Basic Forms
by Chloe Magea
Summary: FemShep/Garrus. It has been two years since the renegade Quinn Shepards death but she has resurfaced. Only to find that she has hidden sexual feelings for her teammate Garrus Vakarian. M for strong language and explicit sexuality. Lust is better then love
1. The Death

_ A/N- All of the __characters in this story belong to BioWare and EA. And are under their copyright. I'm not affiliated with BioWare nor EA and I do not claim any of their characters, locations or names. This story was written for fun. This story is written for adults and contains, strong language and explicit sexuality. Please note I do not have a Bata, please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes. If you would like to Bata for the upcoming chapters please message me. Enjoy. ._

**The Death.**

CRASH- The Normandy was under attack the sirens sounded in a deafening horror. There was panic as the ship started to collapse around them. She ran like a bold of lighting down the corridors, in full suit. She looked around, her eyes glancing over the bright flames and the smoke that was rising from them.

"Shepard!" He yelled running towards her his roaring voice cutting through the screaming and chaos.

"Garrus! You need to get everyone off the ship!" She said just a steel beam came crashing down behind them.

"No! Quinn I'm not leaving you!" Garrus yelled.

"I gave you a fucking order Lieutenant Vakarian!" Quinn Shepard demanded pushing Garrus back. "If you see any other members of the team tell them the same thing, I don't want to see any of you on this vessel coming after me, now go!" Quinn ordered. He was not going to disobey her, he turned to leave her and do what he asked of her, but he stopped and turned and looked at her once more. She stood there with out fear or selfishness her face and eyes were light up by the orange and yellow glow of the fires that were raging around her. She nodded at him and then put on her helmet.

That was the last time Garrus Vakarian saw Quinn Shepard alive. The image as burned in to his memory her standing in the flamed haze, as well as another that hunted his nightmares.

He remembered looking out of the window of the shuttle, at the bast from the Normandy and through the debris they saw her life less body floating in the vacuum of space.

And there was nothing any of them could do to save her.


	2. The Vigilante

**The Vigilante **

"Archangel? Really what kind of fucking name is that?" Shepard spoke, as she walked towards where this vigilante was hiding across the bridge and to his base. "How big is his ego? Apparently he thinks he's the shit...or he just has a small penis." She held on to her assault rifle in her hand lazily and shooting the freelancers with little effort. Child's play for her. Most of them were not fantastic marks men and just people who had pistols and out to make a few quick credits and throwing their lives away for it. "Why can't I just have someone from my old team?" Shepard fussed, Jacob and Miranda said nothing to Shepard's question, they just glanced at each other and shook their heads. They could hear firing from above them as Archangel snipped a few mercs that were trying to make their way to the stair case and to his snippers nest.

"All I know is he better not shoot me, if he does I'm going to have to clip his wings." Just as Shepard said that a round went off from above her, taking her shields down."I'm not going to like this guy one fucking bit." Shepard growled to her self. Her and her team took care the rest of the mercenaries and moved closer to the staircase. Archangel paused and looked through his scope again at the woman who was approaching him with her thick armor and a rocket launcher on her back. Even with her heavy armor she carried her curvy body with grace. Only one person he knew could be that bold. He felt his mouth go dry as if he just drank a glass of sand. Her face was now scared on the cheeks and there was a orange glow forcing its way through the cuts. Like the orange flames that surrounded her on her death-day had filled her body with their power. She could have been man many things, someone could have been masquerading as the dead Shepard, it could have been a machine with her face. But those eyes, those brown eyes that held all of her warmth he knew that could not be faked although there was a menacing glow in them.

They stood in the door way looking at him, he was almost too nervous to turn around., his best friend had been dead for two years and now she come waltzing in.

"Archangel?" She asked, her eyes looking over him feeling something familiar about him but she could not see his face be hind his helmet. He sits down on the ledge and removes his helmet trying to act normal but in side he was over joyed then he had ever been. He sees the look on her face as her eyes met his, her mouth slightly hung open. She felt instantly bad with how much crapped she just talked only to see her best friend looking at her.

"Shepard." He says "I thought you were dead?" No, he knew she was dead he saw her limp lifeless corpus floating among the debris of Normandy.

"Garrus!" Her first reaction was to run towards him, she wanted to hug him and squeeze him. But before her inner child took over she controlled her self in fear that it would make her look weak. She clears her throat and speaks to him trying to hid her excitement. "What are you doing here?" She says walking towards him. Shepard could no longer control the need to hug him, she wraps her arms around his tiny waist and lets out a pleased sigh as her face rests up against his cold armor.

"Just keeping my skills sharp, a little target practice." He says his voice sound tried.

"You okay?" She says releasing him from her embrace.

Garrus looks at her with an expression she does not think she has ever saw from him, he looks exhausted not just physically, emotionally as well. He lost his bright look that she remembered him having as if he lost his innocence.

"Been better. But it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own." He sighed.

"We're here now, you are not alone anymore." Quinn said as she touched his shoulder softly with her hand. Garrus reached up and stroked her small hand with his talon.

"I'm glad." He said softly to her, his voice still filled with a stress she had never had before. Quinn decided not to ask him how he got in such a situation, figuring she should rather wait until she could talk to him one on one.

"Not to cut this reunion short but we have other issues to attended to." Miranda states from behind them. Shepard nodded and removed her hand from Garrus's shoulder.

"Yeah like getting out of here." Jacob said as he looked out on the mercs that were making their way towards the lofted snippers nest.

"Psh. It's nothing we can't handle, we got here with little effort." Shepard scuffed, she never lacked ego. There was a loud explosion and the room quivered under them. Shepard almost lost her balance. "What the hell was that?" She asked looking around.

"Damn it. They've breached the lower level. Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there, Shepard. I'll keep the bridge clear." Garrus grunted as he looked down on his Omni-Tool. Shepard shook her head and them put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, we'll split up in to twos. Me and Miranda will go down there and pop some merc skulls and you and Jacob will take um' out from up here." Quinn said as she grabbed her short gun and cocked it.

"Maybe I should come with you-" Jacob started to say but Shepard cut him off.

"I gave you and order officer." She barked. "Keep Garrus alive until I return, if anything happens to him I'll be holding you responsible." Quinn said as her and Miranda left for the lower level.

"You seem to be close to her." Jacob said as he aimed and head shot a merc.

"Is that an issue?" Garrus grunted, he was finding this man very annoying. He lifted his snipper rifle and popped off two mercs swiftly.

"No, not at all." Jacob retracted. They don't speak to each other after that and Garrus would not have had it any other way. The only human he really wanted to be bothered with was Shepard.

Quinn and Miranda had only been gone for a few moments, making swift work of killing the Blood Pack that had tried to make their way towards the upper level, they blocked them by closing the shutter doors in the basement. They both were back in the room and Quinn was again next to him.

"That was easy." She said running her hand through her black hair trying to get the random stands out of her face.

"Only Blue Suns left right?" She said.

"Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before." He said just then there was a booming noise and a large gun ship appeared in front of the window.

"Archangel!" A voice from the gun craft yells, there are gun shots raining towards them. Quinn runs for cover behind a couch but Garrus has no time to do the same, he is in the line of fire. The bullets slamming in to him as he hits the floor. He leans up only to be shot directly in the face.

"Garrus!" Shepard yelled but she had to leave him to fight off the on-slot. All the could do was lay there in his own blood.

After all of the mercs had been killed Shepard runs over to him hitting the ground with her knees, she quivered at seeing his blue inky blood that was leaving his body at an alarming rate. She lifts his head up to stop him from choking on his own blood, she held him towards her chest. Her hands sopping wet with his blood. He is still for moment until he can hear the faint sound of her heart racing. He opened his eyes and lets out a gurgling gasp for air. Jacob and Miranda looked at each other in shock this was not the Shepard they were used to - it was the first time they saw her tender and caring to anyone.

"Garrus, hold on!" She said softly. "Radio Joker; make sure they're ready for us. He looks bad."

Quinn Shepard was not a woman that shows her emotions, her crew had started to believe she was numb to feeling. But that misconception was blown away when their commander's cold exterior had fell apart when Garrus was hurt and fighting to stay alive.

"Move out of the fucking way!" Shepard yelled at her crew that was gathering around as the medical team tried to get Garrus to the sick bay. She had his blood all over her, on her chest plate, on her face and even some of it had seeped in to her gloves. The blood was dripping off the gurney and leaving a trail of blue blood on the ship's floors.

"Shepard he is going in to shock!" Miranda yelled, Quinn did not react to her second in charge she just kept pace with the gurney her small hand griping his talon. They made it to Medical and Dr. Chakwas met them at the door and they got him in. Shepard went to step in, but Chakwas stopped her .

"Commander, we'll take care of him." Chakwas said in a comforting voice to Quinn who was a nervous wreck. Shepard nodded and looked past the doctor and could see the team trying to control Garues bleeding.

"I trust you doctor..." Quinn said as she stepped from the door and it closed with a hiss. The privacy curtain came down on the Med-bay windows, and Quinn was left to worry about her best friend. She stood there her hands pressed against the glass although she could not see anything.

"Commander..." She heard behind her. Quinn turned around and saw Miranda she looked worried about Shepard and did not have her normal blank expression on her face. Shepard looked around and saw that the whole crew was staring at her, all of them surprised by her ability to be loving and caring to anyone. She did not want to look weak, but she could feel tears pooling in her eyes but she had too much pride to let them fall in front of these new group of people. They could not even understand the bond she had with her old team - and he was apart of it.

"Come on." Miranda said leading Shepard to her office. "You need to rest." Quinn sat down in the office on the couch and put her head in her hands and sniffled and tried her best to hide that she was crying.

"You have any alcohol?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, I sure do. I have vodka is that alright?" Miranda said reaching under her desk and pulling out a glass and filling it.

"Whatever." Shepard said taking the glass and drinking all of it in one glup. She handed the glass back over to Miranda, and she filled it once more. "Fuck." Shepard uttered as she finished her second glass.

"Commander, You might want to thoroughly wash the Turian's blood off of your skin. You have a 1 in 20 chance of having an adverse reaction to the acid that is contained in Turian body fluids." EDI said in a mothering voice.

"One in twenty? I'll take the chance..."

"Yes commander." EDI said her voice disappearing from the room. Shepard sat on the couch with the empty glass in her hand as she stared off in to nothingness. Thinking what she would do if he died.

"Shepard, you feeling a little better?" Miranda asked. There was silence for a moment and then Shepard let out a sigh.

"I will when I know he is fine." Quinn said looking down on the floor.

"There seems to be a lot of love between both of you, he is lucky to have a friend like you." Miranda said talking the glass out of Shepard's hand and then re filling it.

"You sound surprised, is that because I'm a good friend or I'm a close friend to a Turian?" Quinn said with slight venom in her voice. Miranda paused for a moment and then handed the glass over to her commander.

"To be honest, both. When I first met you for real after you had woken up, I did not think there was a nurturing bone in your body. I thought you had ran your previous team to the grid iron not caring about any personal issues they might have. But that all changed when I saw the look in your eyes when you held him and told him it would all be alright. To be quite honest me and Jacob were flood, I did not think you had such compassionate heart." Miranda told as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. "And he's a Turian its obvious that Humans and Turians are not on the best terms with each other."

Shepard stood up and made her way towards the door. "I care about him not because of his race but because he is a good person, he is just as good as any human on this ship. Hell, I bet his is better then most humans in general. Now if you would excuse me, I have to go." She said leaving Miranda's office.

Commander Shepard made her way to her cabin as soon as the door closed behind her she started to undress out of her armor. Her body aced and the blood that had seeped through her gloves had stained her palms a dark shade of blue. She made her way to the bath room and washed her self off just as she started to relax EDI's voice came through her bath room speaker.

"Commander, there has been an update in Garrus's condition. Operative Taylor would like to speak with you in the debriefing room."

"Alright." She said jumping out of the shower and drying off as quickly as possible she threw on her casual clothing and made her way to the elevator, the ride seemed to take forever. "Jacob." She said entering the room looking at him with worry. "It better be good news." She said as she put her hands on the the table.

"Commander, we've done what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit." Jacob starts say and Shepard lowered her head. "The doc's corrected what she can with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but.." His voice tapers off just as the door hisses open, and there Garrus stood. The side of his face had been mangled, there was a protective covering that possibly hid the cybernetics that was under it. A few layers of his rock hard skin on his mandible and cheek were pretty much gone.

"Shepard." He said trying not to agitate his wound too much. Jacob said something about him being up so soon, but she did not really pay attention to him. All she saw was Garrus, her eyes looking over his scars he looked like he grew up. Maybe it was in his armor but he seemed little taller and broader.

"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" Garrus asks her.

Another smile creeps to her lips, "Hell Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there and no one will even notice." She says jokingly with a chuckle at the end of her sentence. Garrus lets out a laugh that rattled through his throat his voice filling the room.

"Don't make me laugh damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is. Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are Krogan..." He notes, Jacob excuses him self from the room leaving Garrus and Shepard alone. He walks over towards her and grabs her up in to a tight hug. He holds her there for a moment before letting her go.

"Ouch..." She said as she reached up and hovered her thin fingers above his scars.

"Frankly, I'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard? You do remember those sick experiments Cerberus were doing?" Shepard pulled her hand way from his face scared that she would touch him mistake and cause pain.

"I guess I'm one of those sick experiments, right." Shepard said her voice partially joking. "They would not spend over four billion credits to bring me back for no reason. I'm sure of it..." Garrus let out a ground and then put his talon on her shoulder.

"I'm doing this for you. Not them."

"It's good to have you back Garrus." She said happy to have a true friend with her. "Hey, dude...let's get drunk." She said as she playfully tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan to me." He laughed back as they left the room.

"Commander, it is 0900 hours and your crew mates are waiting for you in the debriefing room for today's meeting." Shepard grunted at the sound of EDI's bodiless voice, she peeked her eyes open. Maybe catching up with Garrus over a few too many drinks was not the best idea. Her head felt like she had stuck it in a vice.

"Tell them to hold it, I'll be there in a few." She said getting out of bed and entering the bath room.

"Yes Commander." EDI said. Shepard quickly showered and got dressed. She shuffled out of her Captains Cabin. Shepard stopped at the Crew Deck to and get her normal cup of black coffee and then made her way towards the debriefing room.

"Hello, Commander!" Yeoman Kelly Chambers said over flowing with early morning excitement. "You seemed to be having a lot of fun with Garrus last night." She said with a smile.

" Are you implying something, yeoman?" Shepard said with a raised eyebrow.

"No of course not! I just have never seen you that happy before." Kelly reworded trying not to get on her commanders bad side. Shepard let out a scuff at Kelly's words and sipped her coffee. "I just want to give him a hug and tell him everything will be alright." Kelly added. Shepard looked up from her coffee mug at Kelly and narrowed her eyes. The expression that struck her face insistently told Kelly that she had over stepped some boundaries.

"Yeoman, I would appreciate it if you left Garrus alone. He has been through a lot I don't think he needs a human woman complicating things for him." She spat her voice containing venom. Kelly's face grows red as she nods her head.

"...I'm sorry, it's clear that you two are very close." Kelly said as she went back over to her station. Shepard sighed and sipped her coffee and continued on her way to the debriefing room. "To day is starting off to be perfect." She said to her self already agitated, she was hung over and now her Yeoman was going to act like a sixteen year old girl because she told her to stay clear of her best friend. Did she even have the right to say that? Was that an abuse of power? She thought as the door to the debriefing room hissed open.

"Where have you been?" Miranda barked as soon as Shepard walked in.

"XO, who do you think you are talking to?" Shepard flared. "Cut the fuckin' attitude Miranda I'm in no mood."

"We have been waiting her for almost a half hour." Miranda snapped. Jacob shook his head and let out a sigh. Both of them fought like alley cats in heat.

"Who the hell put you in charge? Right, no one. So fall in line or you can get the hell off of my ship!" Shepard's anger boiled over as she yelled at Miranda. Garrus looked over at Shepard and placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. She was livid, he had never seen her snap like that. She took a deep breath and started to speak.. "We are already docked here at Omaga, so business here will clearly be handled first we will be recruiting the Salarian professor, Mordin." She said looking at dossier list.

"I think we should have went for him first, he could have already been doing research on the Collectors." Miranda had to add, Shepard looked up and her and tightened her full lips her mouth ready to come back at Miranda but before she could she heard Garrus's deep voice speak for her.

"I'm sorry I was under the impression that Shepard was the Commander on this ship." He said with sarcasm as he looked at Miranda and folded his arms. His words made Shepard chuckle, and Miranda crossed her arms and sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying, we had planed on recruiting 'Archangel' and...". She paused and had to hold in a small laugh at his silly nickname. "..And The Professor all in one trip, but of course I did not anticipate 'Archangel' being Garrus and him taking a missile to the face." She joked as she nudged Garrus in the side, they both chuckled.

"If I may..." Miranda started, as soon as she opened her mouth Shepard stopped laughing and was prepared to shot down what ever Miranda had to say. Garrus noticed the scowl that shot across her brow as her smile faded. "I believe me and Jacob should accompany you this time, I'm not sure if Garrus is fit for duty." She simply said.

"That will be my Gunnery Chiefs call." Shepard said as she looked over to at Garrus.

"I'm fit for duty when ever you need me Commander." He states as he put his hand on her shoulder.


	3. The Doctor

**The Doctor. **

She looks so different in her armor, almost unstoppable. She is a power house of strength and what he guessed would be human beauty, he was not really sure. Garrus stares at her he, still can't believe she's alive it was like looking at a walking corpse. They made their way to the entrance of the quarantine zone, a Turian stopped them at the sealed door.

"I can't let you go in there miss." The Turian says to a another human woman who is fussing about needing to get her things. Shepard clears her throat and putts her hands on her hips and lifts her eye brow at the Turian.

"Yeah. I need to get in there." She states.

"I can't let you in there miss. Blue Suns have the whole area sealed off, and anyway the pledge kills everything." He states to her.

"Not humans, you ass hole." The other woman says.

"I need to find a Salarian doctor." Shepard says to the guard.

"Yeah. That crazy son of a bitch is in there. Apparently he is working on a cure." he says. Shepard pauses for a moment and then speaks.

"Garrus, head back to the Normandy. Tell Miranda to meet us here, I don't want you catching what ever is in there." She says not turning to look at him.

"No, Commander. I'm staying I'm, sure we will find the doctor and he can take care of me if I do catch anything. And anyway you know you would rather have me here then Miss Lawson." He says from behind her, she chuckles.

"Come on, Miranda is not-that bad..." Jacob says as if he is trying to convince even his self of the fact some what. Garrus just looks at him and shakes his head.

"Have it your way, Garrus" Shepard shrugs, although he can tell she is bothered by him coming.

"Um...I still can't let you in there." The Turian says looking confused. Shepard grabs him by his shirt and snatches him, his eyes widen with shock.

"Open the fucking door." Shepard narrows her eyes at the young Turian, she dose not have to say the same thing twice. He odds his head slowly and she lets him go.

"I'll...I'll radio them and let them know you are comin' in..." The Turian moves out of their way as the door hisses open.

There is the crackle of burning flesh, Quinn covers her nose partly as she looks around. There are a few Turian bodies laying on the ground not far from them.

"You think it's true. Commander? That humans are the only ones that don't get sick." Jacob says pulling out his pistol.

"Not sure." Shepard looks over at Garrus as if she is checking up on him.

"I'm fine." Garrus grunts, but that was a lie. He was starting to feel a little warm but he did not want to tell her that. There is a cough to the right of them, there was a dying Batarian on the ground only having the support of the wall to keep him up right. He cursed at them, spewing anti-human hate. Using his last breath to say the humans are the reason for the pledge. Shepard looms over the dieing Batarian.

"He's not going to live much longer..." Jacob says. But Shepard just looks at the Batarian as he gasps and then the light leaves his eyes.

"Why would I help a person who uses their last breath to speak hate?" She keeps walking down the street. Garrus agrees with his Commanders choice, but it's clear that Jacob is bothered by it.

A few gun shots ring out around them, mercs. The three of them make swift work taking care of the Blue Suns they came across. Garrus starts to feel a bit dizzy, he rubs his forehead only to realize he is running a fever.

_ 'Fantastic', _he thinks to him self. Just then there is a group of Blood Pack members right in their path. He can see the clinic sign just past them. _'Just a little farther, Garrus. Come on'. _He tries to hold him self to get her but he can barely aim. Shepard ducks for cover right next to him she glances over at his shacking hands as he tries to aim. She lifts her gun up and takes out the merc that he was going for, a smile comes across her face as she helps him up.

They enter the clinic stopping in a back room were there is a Salarian doctor who was talking rather fast. He looks over at the three of them looking at Garrus and then looking down on his Omni-Tool, the doctor gives him and injection and says "Turian physiology resilient with simple immunobooster, should be fine now." The doctor stares at him and then scans him with the Omni-Tool again. "No, wait. Disease cured, something else? Hummm?" Mordin says with out a pause. Shepard starts to explain her mission to him and why it is important that he join.

"Mission, no must distribute cure to pledge." Mordin fusses and he walks around his work station, his hands behind his back.

"Nothing, is ever easy is it?" Shepard mumbles to her self knowing the doctor was going to need her help with distributing the cure. There is a noise as the Life Support goes down.

"You must get the Life Support fans up and running again and then instate the air born cure." Mordin says as he hands the vile that contains the cure over to Shepard.

The doctor said Vorcha would be in the area and he was right, they had taken down the Life Support system and were working for the Collectors.

"Fuck...I knew the Vorcha were stupid but to team up with the Collectors?" She said getting up the last fan.

"Collector's make us strong." Garrus said making fun of the simple minded Vorcha. Shepard and him both laughed as they made there way back to the clinic. Mordin speaks swiftly about how he as to finish up some last work and then he will met them on the Normandy.

"Welcome to the team, Mordin. I hope you are as good as they say you are." She says turning and out of the door. "Come on boys, I think we owe our self a drink or two.

"Have you been drinking again, Commander?" Miranda says as she looks over at Shepard. Shepard glances over at Garrus who twitched his mandibles and tried not to laugh. Jacob just looked away not wanting to get in the mist of their daily cat fights.

"Oh come on, Miranda! Who are you my mother?" Quinn said throwing her hands in the air. "I just had a few drinks with Garrus and Jacob for the fantastic job we did with getting Mordin. I mean we earned it."

"It is unprofessional." Miranda fussed.

"You're just mad you had to stay here and miss all the fun." Shepard laughed back. "Come on, we are docked for the night it's not like I had been drinking right before a part of the mission."

"My records indicate that Shepard's alcohol intake in the last week has been-"

"Shove it EDI!" Shepard yelled at the ships AI. Miranda shakes her head at her Commander and leaves the debriefing room in a huff.

"She's going to go tell on you." Garrus laughs as they all exit the room. Jacob heading to his normal post in the Armory, while Shepard and Garrus enter the elevator.

"She's been riding me since I got on this ship." Shepard grunts as she pulls her pony tail holder out of her hair and shakes her hair out. The smell of her shampoo wafting through the small elevator and in to Garrus's sensitive nose.

"What is that smell?" Garrus's rumbles leaning in closer to her.

"It's an artificial smell of a earth flower called lilac." She says as the elevator stops on her deck. The door opens and she steps out and turns to him and smiles.

"Night Garrus."

"Goodnight, Commander." He says right before the elevator door shuts again. Leaving her odd smell behind with him. He sniffs the air, "Lilac..."


	4. The Krogan

**The Krogan **

"Commander we have arrived at Korlus." Joker said over the speaker. Everyone in the debriefing room looked over at Shepard waiting to hear who would be in the Shore Party.

"Garrus and Mordin I want you two to be with me." Quinn said pointing at the both of them as she turns around with her helmet under her arm. The three of them leave the room, Jacob and Miranda are left.

"Have you noticed, her and her little Turian are very close it seems" Miranda fussed as she folded her arms. "She has taken him everywhere since he got here."

"You have to see it from her point of view, Miranda. He was there when she fought Saran and saved the Citadel. Of course he is going to be the only one she trust." Jacob nodded as he leaned against the table.

"I just wish she would give me a chance." Mariana said as she shifted her weight. Jacob looked down and shook his head.

"Lighten up a tiny bit and maybe she will." He said before he left the room.

"Shit" Shepard ducked to take cover, her hair a matted mess - sticking to her forehead. Tank born reject Krogans .Where _just_ what she needed in her life, she huffed as she dropped the last two that were in her way.

"Mercs!" Garrus yelled from behind her. She charged forward taking them out swiftly as she reaches a metal stair case. More mercs blocked them but like the others the three of them make short work of the Blue Suns Mercs that stood in their way of the. Dr Okeer is in the next room, and knows they were coming for him. He begins to speak but Shepard eyes wonder over to a tank containing another Krogan.

"That's one big mother fucker." Shepard mumbles looking at the Tank Born.

"He is pure Krogan." Okeer says stepping next to her. "My life's work." Shepard crosses her arms and looks at the doctor and then back to the tank.

"Well then doctor. Are you ready to leave?" She says, only right before the Blue Suns leader, Jadore is heard over the speaker and her voice is met with a hiss from the air vents. As soon as the air hits the room, Shepard can feel her self choking on the toxic gasses.

"Okeer! We have to go now!" She demands, but the doctor is still.

"I will stay, I have somethings I must do. Take care of Jadore first." He says unwavering and calm. Shepard pauses not wanting to leave the doctor thinking of the mission first and her own life second. She turns and leaves the Krogan to find for him self, as her and her team makes their way to Jadore and her Krogan slaves and mechs. She focuses on the Krogans that are charging while Garrus and Mordin takeout the heavy mech. Only one left and that is the leader, Jadore Shepard fires one well placed shot to Jadore's head and takes her down.

"We have to get back to Okeer in time!" Quinn says as she runs up the stairs as fast as she could, only to see his dead body as she entered the room. "God damn it!" She paces the room for a moment rubbing the side of her head. "All that technology lost."

"Commander, we could take the Tank Born and study it. It was after all made with Collector tech." Mordin says, looking down at his Omni-Tool. Garrus has never seen her so frustrated, her thin brows wrinkle as Mordin suggestion. He could tell she was more upset about failing her mission then she was about Okeer's death. Shepard did not fail anything.

"All I need is a fucking baby Krogan." She grunts as she looks at the tank and shakes her head and puts her hand on her earphone "Joker. Okeer is a no go. But we have a package that needs to be picked up...and his a big one."

Garrus knew she was upset, how she stayed silent on the shuttle ride back and how as soon as they docked she went straight to the elevator and to her quarters. Normally after a mission she would do her rounds and talk to the crew but not this time. She did not want to face anyone with her broken pride. She taps on her terminal searching the ExtraNet aimlessly and lets out a sigh.

"Commander. Garrus is requesting entrance in to your quarters. Should I let him in?" EDI's calming voice says.

"Sure." Quinn says turning towards the opening door. He stood there dressed in his casual clothing holding a plate. His mandibles shift as he smiles at her. '_Man, his waist is tiny...'_ she thinks as her eyes look over him.

"You have been in here all day so I thought I would bring you something to eat." He says entering the room, the door closing behind him. "Personally it looks and smells disgusting to me but I hear it's a human favorite." Shepard smiled at the dish that Garrus had brought her.

"Mmm Spaghetti." She said as she took the plate out of his hands. "Thank you. I appreciate that. Please sit down." Shepard motioned towards the couch, Garrus nodded. They both sat down, Quinn was already munching on her food even before her bottom made contact with the couch. He washed her eat, the way her strange fleshy lips moved as she removed the noodles from the fork. Her short pink thick tongue that licked a bit of sauce off the corner of her mouth. It was so bazaar to watch her, everything about Shepard was was interesting he just wanted to study her. None of the other humans he had ever met intrigued him like she did. "What?" She asked suddenly noticing his gaze on her. He quickly looked away from her.

"Nothing just zoned out." Garrus grunted.

"Garrus? Can I ask you something?" Shepard asked, putting her cleaned off plate down on the table. She shifts her weight as she sinks in to the couch.

"You can ask me anything, Quinn." Garrus smiles.

"What happened after I died? With the crew and everything, it's just been bothering me since I woke up. The last thing I remember was getting Joker to a transport shuttle and then there was an explosion. I heard a hiss and my oxygen hose had been punctured...I tried to stop the air from escaping by grabbing it but of course it did not work. I suffocated - and then two years later I wake up on a table at a Cerberus base." She let out a sigh as she shook her head. Garrus was silent for a moment imaging suffocating in the vacuum of space, it must have been horrific. He took a deep breath and started to talk.

"...The guilt of leaving you on the Normandy haunted me, there was not a day that I did not carry the weight of that with me. After the Normandy exploded our shuttle was still in sight range, there was so much debris. We had thought you got out safe...until Tali screamed and started yelling that she saw you out there. We all looked and saw you, you were struggling-"Garrus pauses and sakes his head. "But then you stopped and were life less. You don't know how many times that image has played in my mind on loop, over and over again. It's burned in my memory.." Shepard tightens her lip and wrinkles her eye brow, hearing this is extremely hard for her. "The shuttles took us to the nearest Alliance planet and when we got there they declared you dead and three days later they had your funeral and we buried an empty coffin. The funeral was just a bunch of people blaming each other for what happened to you. Joker was a mess of course he felt it was all his fault..." Garrus looks down on the floor. "Me and Kaidan got in to a huge fight, he blamed me for what happened."

"What?" Shepard asks, surprised,

"Yeah. He said that you would have listened to me more then anyone because you were close to me and that if I had tried harder I would have been able to convince you to leave the ship. And that I should have just picked you up and forced you to evacuate. Yeah, that fucking asshole blamed me, it was all my fault, even though he also had the chance to get you off the Normandy.":

"No one would have made me do anything. I gave you an order that day and fallowed it I gave him the same order. No one is responsible for what happened to me." She said as she scooted closer to Garrus.

"Yeah but none the less, his words chewed at me. And I said somethings that were very nasty to him and it almost boiled over in to a physical fight but Anderson stopped it. After that I left and went back to C-Sec and tried to be normal." He grunts to him self as he recalls his memories "I remember there was this advertisement for the Alliance it was right out side my office, they used your image to try and get young people to join, using you as a tragic icon romanticizing being with the Alliance. That ad ran everyday at the same time, and when it did your image would look in my direction, smile and salute. It really bothered me." Garrus rubbed his forehead. "The last straw was when they started covering things up everything you had done, saying that Sovereign was not a Reaper but a Geth ship - I could not take that shit any more and I left and went to Omega where I tried to be you. I got a team together and tried to bring justice and fight the good fight...but...I failed..." Shepard takes her hand and places it on his knee and looks at him, her face written with sadness. "You were my teacher, my friend, my hero and when you died I could not think no do anything but try to emulate you, but I was useless." He finished and then looked at her, there were tears pooling behind her brown eyes. She sniffled and a few of those tears feel down her checks.

He had never seen her cry ever, she was too hard to cry in front of anyone but him. He felt honored she wound trust him with her feelings. She reached and grabbed him hugging him tightly, she felt so warm against is unarmored body. She was so soft and fleshy to him, he felt like she would break in his arms. She reached her hand up and stroked the sensitive leathery skin that was under his fringe. Garrus could not help but to let out a low rumble as she touched him, but he did his best to control him self. He knew it was not what it felt like and that Shepard did not know the sexual implications of touching behind Turian's fringe. She released him from her hug and then pulled back and cleared the tears from her face.

"You better not tell anyone that I cried. If you do I will break your arm." She said. He knew she was only partly joking but mostly serious.

"It will be our little secret." He could still feel her body heat even though she was not making contact with him any more.

"So Kaidan and you got in to it, huh?" Shepard asked, curious about the strange situation. Garrus grunted and tightened his mandibles, she could tell it was a touchy subject.

"Yeah. I said some really mean things to him that I should not have." Garrus exhaled and stoked his forehead again with his talon knowing she was going to ask what he said. "I kind of told him that, he was not the right man for you and you always deserved better." Shepard raised her eye brow at him. "But I only said that kind of stuff because he made me so mad..." He waited for Shepard to scold him, surly she was going to be upset with him. There was a pause, Garrus could not even bring him self to look at her.

"Deserve better? Ha! You make it sound like me and Kaidan had something special." Shepard said with a laugh. He looked at her, he was puzzled. He thought they _did_ have something special...

"Why are you so shocked by that?" She said not liking the expression on his face. "Did he say we had something together?"

"Yeah, he did. He would go on and on about how he...how he loved you." Garrus spoke, her mouth hung half way open, she could not believe what he just told her.

"What! Loved me? What the hell we only fucked once...and it was not even that good!" Quinn explained all the while shaking her head.

"...Really? To hear him talk about it you two were in love." He blinked.

"Ha! No, not even close. Right before Ilos..."She stopped talking unsure if she wanted to share this with him, worried it would make her look bad. "I-I needed it. I had to...blow off some steam." Shepard sat back and said. "I used him...just for that..."

"Quinn that is horrible." Garrus said but she could tell he was joking by the way he left out a small chuckle at the end of his sentence.

"What? I mean who else was I gonna do? He was my only option!" She laughed. Her question made him think about all the other men on the ship.

"There's always Joker." He says.

"Garrus you are not even funny." Shepard shakes her head at his ridiculous suggestion.

"Well your best option was right in front of you and you did not even know." His mandibles widen as he grinned. "It's clear that I'm the best looking man on the Normandy then and now." It is clean in his tone that he is just playing with Shepard but there is something in his rumbling voice that makes her question the possibility of such a thing.

"Would that even work?" She asked, her mind trying to imagine such a thing.

"I'm not sure." Garrus said eager to change the subject. "So what was so bad about, Kaidan ?"

"He just did not do it for me. He was too sensitive...I guess."

"Ah I see." He said standing up and looking at her. "It's getting late I better go get some rest." He could smell the tension between them, and he needed to get out of there before he do anything that he could regret.

"Yeah your right. I'll see you in the morning." She said standing as well. He nodded as he left the room. The door closed behind him with a hiss. He felt so confused, the way she made him feel when she touched behind his fringe, how warm she was...Garrus let out a sigh as she shook his head and went to the elevator.


	5. The Subject

**The Subject **

Quinn, Garrus and Miranda had went to the floating prison, Purgatory to retrieve Jack. But of course nothing could go easy for them_ ever_. The Warden had planed to capture Shepard and sell her as a slave for a price that would make the Warden rich. Maybe the Warden did not expect Quinn Shepard to be a straight bad-ass. Bullets started to fly right after she had told the Warden "Go fuck your self. And suck a dick while you are at it."

Shepard and her team destroy the Garrus that are blocking them from Jacks cryo-cell. She does not hesitate when she reaches theconsolethat would free Jack he taps it and watches the cell open.Smoke from the liquid-nitrogen in the cell bellows up as they see Jack.

"That's Jack?" Miranda says her voice shocked for good reason. As Jack was a thin woman with a bald head and a body covered more with tattoos then clothing. As soon as she opened her eyes she causes commotion by taking out mechs and guards with her strong biotic power.

"Hm. Come on lets get her." Shepard said. They make their way through the prison more mechs and Blue Suns in their path but most of them don't stand a chance. Shepard pulls forward, she walks past a tall crate and then there is sticking force to the side of her face. She has no idea of what it is but she feels her teeth bite down on her bottom lip, gashing through the soft flesh. She looks up and her eyes meet a Blue Sun that they must have missed, he had hit her with the butt of his rifle. She looks at him for a split second, blood from the gash running down her face. She licks some of the blood off her lips the merc has no chance to escape or strike again. Shepard grabs him and wrestles him to the ground. Garrus is surprised at her brute force, him and Miranda just watch as Shepard takes the butt of her shot-gun and repeatedly beat the Blue Sun's head in. Garrus's mouth hangs open, she's like a animal, he never thought she had so much rage in side of her. Her actions are so primal, the way her hair sticks to her sweat-soaked forehead and how she licks the blood off of her chin. Twenty, Garrus counts twenty blows to the Blue Sun's skull. But he is not dead, he gargles under Shepard trying to breath but there is too much blood filling his nose.

"I already have enough scars on my beautiful face. And you had to go and cost me another huge one, you asshole." She said still on top of the merc, the blood staining her teeth. She reaches for her pistol. The man chocks as she points her gun at him at point blank range "Go to hell." She says shooting him in the head. Shepard dabs her chin there is blood dripping off of it and down her chest plate. It's a pretty nasty wound part of her bottom lip only being held on by a few layers of skin on the inside of her lip. She gets up and keeps moving, Miranda and Garrus are still in shock.

They kept moving and made there way to the end and to the Warden they take care of his guards and Shepard kills him with a bullet to the chest.

"Let's find Jack and get out of here." Miranda says from behind Shepard. They find Jack at the docks looking out of the window at the Normandy with a scowl on her surprisingly beautiful face.

"Cerberus. Just what I needed." She says from behind gritted teeth.

"I'm not Cerberus. And I want to get the fuck off this station as bad as you do, Jack. Now get on my ship." Shepard demands.

"Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?" Jack says taking a step forward, her biotic power glowing on her clinched fist..

"I'm Quinn Marie Fucking Shepard. I came all this way to get you outta' this hell hole, I was almost kidnapped, I fought through waves of Blue Suns, I killed your Warden and I'm bleeding profusely from my mouth. All that shit for you, so that means you are going to get on my ship whether you like it or not." Quinn said putting her hands on her ample hips and stepping toward Jack.

"Hum. I like you Shepard, your a bad ass. Not as bad ass me but your no pussy. I respect that. I'll make a deal with you, Cerberus has a lot of shit on me. I want access to any files about me." Jack folded her thin arms and said.

"Deal." Shepard did not hesitate. Miranda started to say something but Shepard cut her off. "Miranda, shut up."

"You better not be fucking with me." Jack said as they made their way to the Normandy. Shepard laughed as she held her gashed lip.

"You better not fuck with me either, Jack."

"Shep, stop licking it." Garrus says as he accompanies her to the Med-Bay. She keeps tasting the wound using her tongue as a guide and trying to feel how much damage there was. She holds a tissue to her mouth in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He could not get the image of her out of his mind when she killed that merc. There was something about it that was- he could not even find the right word for it, he tried to find a way to define what he thought but he was at a loss. The doors to the Med-Bay opened, Dr. Chakwas glanced over at them from her desk, her eyes landing on the blood stained tissue that Shepard had on her face.

"Commander, what happened?" Chakwas asked as she helped Shepard over to a medical bed.

"I got bashed in the face and I bit my lip." Shepard said pulling away the cloth. Chakwas grabbed a pair of gloves and inspected her lip. The doctor frowned as soon as she saw the damage and sighed.

"That does not sound good." Garrus said as stood next to Shepard. His eyes looking over at the gash and the blood that was still seeping from it.

"You are bleeding pretty bad." Chakwas said as she grabbed a bottle off of the medical table. "I'm going to clean the wound and then I will close it." Shepard just nodded at her words as the doctor applied a clear water like liquid to her mouth. It stung but it was nothing she could not handle. "Alright it seems that stopped most of the bleeding. Alright, Commander. I can close it with a laser that might leave a burn or I can and use do it the old fashion way and stitch it up. Either way you are going to have a scar." Chakwas stated as she walked over to her medical table.

"I would rather have another scar then a burn." Quinn said.

"Stitch it is then." Chakwas nodded as she picked up a med-needle and spool of clear thin black stitching. Garrus watches as Shepard sits sill unflinching of the needle that is being threaded in and out of her flesh. She does not whine nor cringe, she takes the pain. He is in awe of his Commander, sometimes he forgets that she his human and not her own race. She is fragile yet strong, but his thoughts of her are obviously conflicting. When he watched her turn in to primal animal with nothing but rage and adrenaline rushing through her veins-it made him aroused. He tried not to think about it, but he could not get it out of his brain.

"There all done. And Shepard please try to be careful next time." Chakwas said handing Shepard a mirror. "The stitching will dissolve in about three weeks." Quinn nodded and then looked over her reflection, it did not look that bad after all.

"Thanks doc." Shepard says as she stand up and places the mirror on the table. Her and Garrus left the Med-Bay. "Hey, I'm gonna go wash up and stuff. I gotta talk to Jack also, so I'll see you later." She said as she moved towards the elevator.

"Yeah, I have calibrations to do as well. I'll see you later, Commander." He nodded. She got on the elevator and left him on the Crew Deck. Garrus grunted as he made his way to the Main Battery. He let out a sigh as he looked at his console. He started his calibrations but then he started to feel his mind start to wonder, he could not focus on anything. He was restless.

"Damn it." Garrus grunted as he wondered from his work and on to the Extra-Net. He hesitated, paranoid that somehow someone was going to know what he was looking up but his talons finally typed the words 'Human female body language.' He searched some of the information, a few vids came up he watched some. He wanted to understand her, every move she made. He was so unsure but he felt some tension between him and her. Humans were so confusing. He sprawled the Extra-Net for more information on her kind. Truian woman were not hard to read, if they had intentions with a male they showed it, but from what he found Human woman liked to feel things out.

"Ah, fuck." He mumbled giving up on hes 'research' and going to the Fornax website.


	6. Horizon

_A/N- Woot. I now have a Bata! Thank you CottoncandyGk for Bataing for me :)_

**Horizon**

"Hey, Garrus!" Shepard said, as she walked in the Main Battery. Garrus finished typing and then tuned towards her. He was shocked at what she was dressed in; it was a black long sleeved short dress with a rather low neckline. His eyes widened as he looked at her body, the tight dress hugging every curve she had. His eyes skimmed down towards her fleshy legs. She had so much squishy soft skin; he could not help but wonder what it felt like when it was bare.

"Playing dress up in Miranda's outfits I see." He said, snickering. Shepard tapped her foot on the floor, her black high heels making soft clinks on the polished metal of the floor.

"No. This is mine." She hissed. Garrus looked at her again. He had never noticed how smooth her brown skin looked. "I don't live in my armor, I wanted to be a woman for a day...It does not help me feel feminine when I'm running around all the time in bulky armor and Miranda dressed in a sexy cat suit. So I thought I would look nice for a change." She said, explaining her fashion choice of the day. Garrus was listening but he found himself staring at the bumps that sat on her chest. Turian woman did not have those, and he had never seen so much of Shepard's. Both of the mounds pushed together causing a crease in the center of her chest. She did not seem to notice, or maybe she did and decided not to say anything to him. He looked away from her breast and finally up to her face.

"Well I'm sure your choice of clothing today caused some distractions." Garrus looked back down on his terminal, seemingly checking his calibrations.

"Not really, Kelly said she liked it." Shepard exclaimed, feeling rather good about her accomplishment that she had gotten her new outfit on sale for only fifty five credits.

"I bet some of the men on this ship are talking about how sexy you look." Garrus said, as he tapped on his terminal, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. His mandibles tightening when he realized what he had just confessed.

"Do you think it's sexy? I mean I don't think Turian woman wear short dresses, do they?" Shepard asked. Garrus froze and wondered what he was going to say, it was a confusing mix of a 'yes' and 'no'. He could see more of her body now and he was interested in it, he wanted to explore it but also it was so alien and bazaar. Her meaty skin was something brand new to him.

"Shepard I-" He started to say but then Joker's voice cut through the intercom.

"Commander! Urgent message from the Illusive Man. Patching him through to the debriefing room." Shepard and Garrus look at each other; they both knew this was going to be an important part of the mission...

"This is my first mission with you people and you bring me here?" Jack yelled, as they looked towards the Collector ship that hung in distance. Shepard gulped as she looked at the ship, she could feel her hands shaking.

_Hold it together, Quinn..._she thought to herself but was so full of fear she thought she was going to vomit all over her suit.

"Jack you're a badass, you can handle it." She replied to the biotic, as she started to walk forward. There was no one but the three of them. Just Jack, Garrus, and herself. It was eerie, she wondered if they had gotten taken or if they had fled, she hoped it was the latter. Up ahead she saw something, Collectors. Tall, thin, insect looking creatures. They had no faces and there was nothing to distinguish one from another. They only had four round yellow eyes. "Let's kill them before they even knew what fucking hit 'um." Shepard said, dunking under cover. The Collectors were strong with high shields and advanced weapons, but she knew her and her team were better. They dropped the first wave of Collectors with no issue, but she knew the first of it had just begun.

"Come on we gotta' keep moving." She said, but got distracted by Garrus calling out to her so suddenly.

"Commander! You have to see this." Garrus was standing over by a lump covered in a red haze that Shepard could not make out what it was until she was a little closer.

"Holy shit." Jack exclaimed, disgusted. "It's a colonist." Shepard covered her mouth out of shock, in front of them was a woman lying on the ground, frozen. Her eyes were moving, and she was alive and conscious.

"Well we know now how they take their humans..." She said, waving her Omni-Tool in front of the victim and downloading some data to upload to the Normandy. "Nothing we can do for her." Shepard said sadly, continuing past the woman, Jack and Garrus following after.

There were more Collectors up a head as they continue to fight. Dropping them one after the other but they kept coming. Shepard was just about to take one out when there was a voice that came out of nowhere, none of them were sure of which direction it came from but the message was clear.

"_Assuming direct control."_

One of the Collectors stopped and then glowed with a yellow light from under its skin. It was stronger than anything she had ever faced. It started its assault on her and her team. Shepard ducked for cover but was thrown back by the creature's biotic attack. She hit the ground with a loud thud, but she quickly got up and switched her weapon.

"What the fuck is that thing!" Jack yelled, trying to get closer. The monster tried to advance but was taken out by a well-placed headshot by Garrus.

"_You have only delayed the inevitable."_

"Fuck that thing." Jack said, as they walk past its body, hacking and spitting on it on her way.

There was a door blocking them, Quinn hacked it opened easily. It was a dim room, but there was a huge locked door on the other side. Before she took another step she knew there was someone hiding there. She pulled out her pistol just in case.

"We're not alone." She grunted, just then a man looked from behind a few boxes.

"You're human.." He said, sounding surprised. "They came and took everyone...It was horrible." He put his hands on his head and paced. "What the hell are those things!"

"They were Collectors." Shepard answered, not beating around the bush as she switched and checked over her weapons.

"Collectors? I thought that they were made up...shit everything was fine until they placed that Alenko here and those defense towers...that's what started this mess." He rambled, Garrus stiffening up as soon as the man mentioned Alenko's name.

"Listen I would love to stay here and chat but I need you to open that door so I can take care of this shit." Shepard said, stepping towards him aggressively. Garrus was relieved that Quinn did not ask about Alenko, it seemed she did not care at all that he was on Horizon.

"Alright I'll open the door. But I'm locking it as soon as you leave." The man said, looking down to his Omni-Tool and activating some keys. The door opened with a hiss and closed behind them as they stepped past it and walk towards the center of the colony.

"EDI, I'm going to check out these deference towers. I need you to scan them and see if they could be useful against that Collector ship." Shepard said, putting her hand up to her ear piece and communicating with the Normandy's AI.

"Yes, Commander but it will take time." EDI responded, curtly.

"We'll defend the tower, but make it quick." Quinn ordered, but just as soon she finished talking to EDI, a wave of Husks headed towards them.

"Defend the tower at all costs!" Shepard yelled to her team, as she blasted Husk after Husk with her shotgun. Collectors swarmed in quickly, but they kept pace. Jack used her powerful biotics to knock them off their feet and Garrus taking them out with a well-placed concussive shot or headshot after.

"It is almost complete, Commander. But I would recommend that you keep your weapons out, there are more incoming." EDI advised.

"Fuck!" Shepard yelled loudly, out of pure frustration. She looked ahead and saw something like it was cut from a nightmare. It hung in the sky as if it was looking at them, glowing blue and what seemed to be Husks skulls on the side of it. Its spiny legs twitching as it suddenly came towards her, excreting a particle beam directly at her. As soon as it touched her, it depleted her shields. It clipped through the soft part in between her armor plates on her shoulder. She sprinted behind of the metal martial crates that were spared from the fight. She tried to catch her breath and peak out to shoot but before she could it was there again, and she is forced to hide once more.

"Jack, take its shields down, me and Garrus will hit it with everything we have." She said, quickly through her head set. She manageed to slap a bit of Medi-gel on her wound as she pulled out her assault rifle.

"Got it." Jack answered back.

"The tower is on line Commander." EDI's voice came through with good news, adding much to her relief. They focused everything in that moment, taking the beast down finally. The Defense towers powered up quickly blazing through the Collector ship's shields as it powered up and then pulled out with a majority of the colonist on board.

"Fuck!" She screamed, as she punched one of the crates that was nearest to her. Pounding on it over and over again putting dents in it. She was so mad; she had let them get away. Garrus watched her as she swears and beats the crate. He placed his talon on her shoulder, as she lets out a defeated sigh...

She failed, again...

The man that they had met earlier in the locked room came out running from where he was hiding, looking up to the ship and lets out a sort of whimper.

"But they took Egan and Sam and… and Lilith. Do something!" He yelled still looking up. "What the fuck you want me to do! Huh?" Shepard snapped, taking a step towards the man with her fist clinched. "We fought for the people you cared about while you hid, and you have the nerve to blame us?" She had reached her breaking point.

"Yeah you pussy." Jack agreed whole heartedly.

"Shepard." Garrus said, pulling her back before she would hurt the man.

"Shepard? I have heard that name before; you're some kind of Alliance hero." The man said, looking at her face. Shepard was about to let him have it. "Some kind of Alliance hero?", she thought bitterly. She saved the fucking galaxy. Before she could part her lips, she heard a voice she was not expecting.

"Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. The first human spectre. Savior of the Citadel," Said a man as he walks from behind one of the buildings. Alenko. Garrus narrowed his eyes at Kaidan, his grip still tight on Shepard's. "You're in the presence of a legend, Delan. And a ghost." He walked over to her, Garrus finally letting her go.

"I thought you were dead Shepard, we all did." He said, now face to face with her.

Shepard tightened her lips and remembered everything that Garrus had told her. This man who she had slept with once said that he was in love with her, said such hurtful things to Garrus.

"I got better." She simply replied. A smile came to Garrus's face as he tried not to let out a laugh at his expense. He knew she was thinking about everything he had told her. In a way he felt a little bad for Kaidan but not so much. Kaidan's expression changed and Garrus knew for a fact that he was not happy with Shepard.

"That's all you have to say to me? You show up here after two years and just act like nothing happened? I thought we had something Shepard. Something real. I … I loved you." He said. Shepard arched her eyebrow at his last three words; she did not say anything and waited for him to finish his dramatic rant. "Thinking you were dead tore me apart. How could you put me through that for two years? Why didn't you try to contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?" He said, his voice escalating slightly, sounding hurt and broken. Garrus looked at the annoyed expression on the Commanders face, he was itching to say something to Kaidan but he knew it was not his place.

"First off, Kaidan I just woke up not even a month ago and Cerberus re built me and second off we only-" She started to say. but was cut off by Kaidan.

"You're with Cerberus now? Garrus, too?" He said glancing at Garrus and then back to Quinn. "The reports were right..."

"Reports? Really?" She questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"Alliance Intel thought Cerberus might be behind the missing human colonies. They got a tip this colony might be the next one to get hit. Anderson stonewalled me, but there were rumors that you weren't dead. That you were working for the enemy."

"And you believed that shit?" Garrus growled from behind her talking a step forward. "How stupid can you be, Kaidan?" He snarled at his old teammate.

"I was here for Cerberus. You were just a rumor. I… I wanted to believe you were alive, but I never expected anything like this." He stepped towards her. "You've turned your back on everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me." Kaidan whined. From behind them they heard Jack bark out a loud laugh.

"This dude is such a bitch." Jack exclaimed, but everyone ignored her words.

"Okay! That is enough, I'm sick of your allegations. The Alliance did not give a shit about my death and used me as some kind propaganda to get new troops. Then everything that I uncovered about the Reapers was hush-hush and covered up! I fucking died, Kaidan. Not a coma, dead as a door nail. I woke up two years later to find out that Cerberus had rebuilt me and now I'm busting my ass to find out why the Collectors are taking humans by the colony!" She said, her dark face growing slightly red with anger. All the while Garrus just stared at Kaidan, watching the look of hurt grow more and more on the human's face. "And now I have to deal with you bitching and moaning about how I hurt you, listen you don't have shit to complain about! You saw it yourself the Collectors are talking humans and they're working with the Reapers!" Quinn finished the rant, her fist clinched tightly.

"I want to believe you, but I don't trust Cerberus. They could be using the threat of the reapers to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the collectors?" Kaidan asked. Shepard rolled her eyes and lets out a grunt. "You show up after two years and tell me you're working with Cerberus. You've changed... but I haven't. I know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier, always will be. I've got to report back to the citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not." He said as he turned and begins to walk away from her. Garrus lets out a growl at Kaidan's words. He looked at Shepard, wondering if there is something else there...she said that she did not really care for Kaidan and was not in love with him. Yet Garrus searched her face for any trace of longing and was relieved when there was none.

"Alight." She said simply not making any attempt to stop Kaidan.

"Goodbye Shepard. And be careful." Kaidan said before leaving, Quinn shrugged her shoulders in indifference, but Garrus can't fight the urge to choke Kaidan for the things that he had said.

"Ew. You fucked him, Shepard? You must have been really horny or desperate." Jack notes looking over at Shepard with a smirk on her face.

"Joker, send the shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this fucking colony."

"It was really good to see Kaidan again." Joker slipped up in front of Shepard, his expression changing when he realized what he had just said to her. She shook her head and then took a seat near him.

"Why did I sleep with him?" She wondered out loud.

"Aw come on Commander you and Kaidan had some good chemistry..." Joker tried to say but then looked at the sarcastic face she was making and shrugged. "Okay...I have no idea why you did it. Don't get me wrong he's a cool guy and all but he has the personality of a brick."

"That's what I get for just trying to get some in before Ilos." Shepard said before she got up and started to leave before he spoke up again.

"Damn, Commander you're like a dude." Joker said pausing. "I mean like the most feminine dude I have ever met…in a dress." She smiled and laughs. "Speaking of your little dress, one hundred percent of the male crew thinks you look smoking in it."

"Thank you, Joker." She said, smiling and taking her leave. Shepard continued to make her rounds around the ship and everyone was surprised about how she was taking the whole "Kaidan thing" but Garrus. He knew for a matter of fact that she truly was fine and that alone put him at ease.


	7. Illium

_A/N Once again thank you to my bata. :D_

**Illium**

Sweat dripped off the tip of her nose, her bare feet sticking to the mat underneath her as she moved back and forth. Her bandaged hands swung as she hit the punching bag over and over again. Lifting her muscular leg and kicking it with a resounding slap that echoed through the cargo bay. She knew she had some pent up aggression and anger that needed to be worked out before it consumed her. She just wanted to beat someone to death, again. She was so pissed off at everything; everyone on the ship was acting like she was a child. They kept asking if she was okay when it came to what happened on Horizon with Kaidan.

Kaidan. Kaidan. Kaidan.

If she heard his name one more fucking time she was going to lose it! She was fine, why couldn't anyone understand that she was okay? It was stereotypical. As a woman what was she supposed to do, be held up in her quarters crying over some man that she really did not have a romantic link to? If she was a man, it would be acceptable to be indifferent...but a woman? No! They are supposed to cry and mope over men. Maybe if the sex was worth mentioning, but it was far from that. To top off her frustration, Kelly Chambers could not stop talking about Garrus.

_He's sooo cute! I just wanna hug him! Do you think he likes humans?_

Shepard already told Kelly once to stay away from Garrus. How much more of a warning did this girl need? Back the fuck off. What was this a war ship or a High-school drama? She could already imagine the hidden cameras all around the ship.

She just wanted to scream, yell and punch shit out of something and here she could.

"Commander, Officer Vakarian is requesting entry. Would you like me to let him in?" EDI's smooth voice chimed in through the speakers.

"Sure." Shepard said, simply as she continued her assault on the punching bag. The door hissed open, the warm air from the cargo bay hitting him. The smell of sweat was strong in the air. He had smelled her perspiration before but only faintly when they were on a mission, but never this strong. He preferred this smell over the flower scent that lingered in her after a shower. This one was truly her. She was almost soaking wet. Some of her sweat covered her forehead and through her now slick hair and even a trickled ran down in between her breasts that were held tightly in place by her sports bra. Her legs were barely covered with her fitness shorts that were cut off at her upper thigh.

"Yes?" She said, grabbing her water bottle off of the ground downing half of it as she waited for his response. Garrus looked at her for a moment as if he was trying to survey her mood; he knew that she had the ability to snap someone's neck and her sharp tongue could be somewhat hurtful when she was in a bad mood.

"Everyone is eating in the mess hall. I wanted to see if you were hungry." Garrus finally spoke, his eyes glancing from the punching bag and then back to Shepard warily.

"Hmm" She smiled at him; seeing that his posture relaxed and he was relieved she was calmer since she had been a little testy lately. "Thanks Garrus, I'll be there in a few."

"Mmm. Commander, you have been a little pissed off lately. Anything you want to talk about?" He asked, as he leaned up against the wall with his arms coming up to cross across his chest. Shepard was still hitting the punching bag; she scrunched her face and grunted at the fact her frustration was growing once more.

"Yeah. It's just the whole Kaidan thing...I mean, fuck that's all everyone wants to talk to me about. Everyone on this ship is treating me like a little girl. Trying to comfort me and shit. I don't need to be comforted." She said, as she took a last punch and then grabbed her towel off of the floor. "He sent me a fucking message today." She said, walking towards him now.

"Oh, really? Did it say that he's a self-righteous ass-hole who thinks he's better because he is still with the Alliance? Because if not it should have." Garrus joked halfheartedly, falling into step alongside her as they went to exit the cargo bay.

"Haha. I'm not sure I did not read it. But I'm sure Kelly has been reading my emails or something, because when she told me I had a new message, she looked like she wanted to see my reaction. Everything is drama with that girl." Shepard tapped the button that signaled and called for the elevator.

"Kelly is very strange, I asked her where you were and she kept stuttering over her words." Garrus grunted, in response. Shepard let out a laugh as they got in the elevator. "What?" He blinked.

"She wants you bad." She snickered.

"What? No, you are joking."

"No, she is hurting bad for some Garrus." She said, giggling as she looked at him and laughed even harder at the surprised look on his face.

"Well I am sexy. But I don't find humans attractive so I guess Ms. Chambers is outta luck." Garrus defended, but he quickly re-coiled his words when he realized what he just said to the human next to him. "I mean humans that are not you-" He said quickly, but only digging himself a bigger hole.

_Smooth move, Garrus. _He thought to himself.

"So, you think I'm attractive?" Quinn joked, putting her hands on her fleshy hips as a mischievous smile came across her lips. Was it sexual? He was almost sure it was...

"Shepard I don't see you as human, for some reason you are your own spices." He rebutted, trying not to say anything that would implicate him anymore.

"That did not answer my question, Vakarian." She responded sensually, her voice almost sizzling. The elevator came to a halt at the Crew Deck. He let out a small sigh of relief; he did not want to answer that question. Of course he thought she was attractive but what would it do if he told her that? He was sure it would turn their friendship awkward and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Shepard just smiled and dropped the topic as soon as they reached the Crew Deck, but she was still smiling as if she already knew the answer to her question.

"Well we _were _all eating in the mess hall. I guess they all went back to their posts..." Garrus said, as they turned the corner only to find that the Crew Deck was now empty.

"It's okay, it is getting pretty late I bet most of them are about to go to sleep." Shepard said, noticing that even Mess Sergeant Gardner was not as his normal station. The light in the Med-Bay was out and it seemed that everyone had retired for the night. "Hmmm. I guess I'll have a late night snack with just you." Shepard walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out something to eat. Spaghetti, _again_.

"I really need to get that cook some better ingredients..." Quinn mumbled dryly, as she made her way to the table with her plate, too lazy to heat her food up. She sat down across from Garrus and started to eat.

"You know Garrus I don't think I have ever seen you eat something." She said, in between bites. "Excuse my ignorance, but are you a carnivore? I mean your teeth are razor sharp..." She wondered, looking at his mouth.

"Yes, meat is a huge part of our diet." Garrus said, as he watched her eat once again, fascinated with her tongue as he could not help but wonder what it felt like. "But I could never enjoy the same foods that you do; it would make me sick...or worse." His eyes still on her mouth, watching her with huge intensity. She had fuller lips then the other human woman on the ship.

"Hmm...that blows." Shepard finished eating, licking the sauce off of her mouth, she noticed him looking at her lips. He was completely zoned out on her mouth, fascinated with their shape trying to imagine how they felt his none existing ones. Shepard nibbled on her bottom lip and leaned closer to him curious if he would back away but he didn't.

"Do you like my mouth?" She asked, there was silence for a moment and she thought about backing away but then he spoke.

"It looks so soft." He mused; his eyes still intent on watching her. A smile came to her lips and she parted them to speak but then they both heard the elevator stop on the Crew Deck and the sound of heavy boots. Shepard pulled away only to find Jack walking around the corner.

"Hey fuckers." Jack said loudly, when she saw the two at the table. The moment was ruined.

"Well commander, it is getting late, I will see you in the morning." Garrus said, getting up from the table and leaving even before Shepard could say good night. Quinn sighed and looked down at the empty plate that sat in front of her on the table. Jack looked down the corridor, making sure he was out of ear shot. As soon as he was and the doors closed behind him from the Main Battery giving them privacy, she looked at Quinn, knowing how both of them felt about them each other without breaking a sweat thinking about it.

"He wants to fuck you, bad." Jack stated, as she walked over to the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water then took the chair across from Shepard that Garrus once had, putting up her feet cross the marble of the table.

"No, he doesn't." Shepard responded feeling defeated. She was the one that wanted him. "I make him uncomfortable."

"Uh, if I know one thing in the Galaxy, I know when a man wants to fuck. Human or Turian they all think with their dicks." Jack took her feet off the table and then leaned in closer to Shepard. "He wants to fuck you so bad. I noticed it back Horizon. He was ready to fight that ass hole, all growling and shit. Turn up the heat and you'll get em'." Jack paused, and smiled. "Hell I hear that Turian's have a pretty huge cocks" Shepard let out a laugh and then got up from the table shaking her head, still snickering from Jack's remark.

"Good night, Jack." Shepard said to the biotic, as she left still smiling as she made her way to the elevator and to bed.

Garrus tapped at his terminal in the Main Battery checking over the same algorithm for the thousandth time. Did he even have a right to pissed? He always came with her, but when they docked at Illium, Shepard took Miranda and Jacob with her to gather the Assassin and the Asari Justicar. They had been gone for hours, and he was getting worried. He trusted no one to watch her back but him. His talons tapped as he calibrated. Fuck, was she upset about last night? Did he do something that was taboo in human culture? What was she going to say to him right before Jack interrupted them? Once again he found himself unable to concentrate on his firing algorithms due to all the questions that ran through his brain.

Once again he found himself on the Extra-Net.

His talons nervously entering the worlds 'Turian and Human intercourse' he cringed at the word "intercourse" it was so ironic. He had been as the humans say 'around the block' several times. Yet this was something completely new to him. It was possible that knowing that made him itch with excitement. His mandibles twitched as he read over some of the information. The word 'chafing' was sure coming up a lot. He felt himself grow embarrassed at the thought that he might be too big for Shepard.

"Gah. This is not going to work-" He mumbled to himself, until he found some of the vids involving both species. He was unsure if he should watch some. What if someone found out what he was watching? He would never live that down. His fingers hovered over the pay button; he swallowed hard and felt a huge lump in his throat. As soon has he gathered enough courage to watch it EDI's voice interrupted him.

"Officer Vakarian, there are over six thousand eight hundred and fifty four vids on the Extra-Net with sexually explicate images involving human females and Turian males. Would you like me to download them to your personal Omni-Tool?" EDI's monotone voice said over the speaker in the room, almost in a joking manner. Garrus darted his head over to the blue orb behind him.

"Shut up EDI." He said, closing his search and putting his head in his hands. Embarrassment rushing up and down his form.

"Also Commander Shepard has returned with two new crew members and she is requesting you in the debriefing room at once." The AI's smooth voices exclaimed. Garrus went to leave the Main Battery when EDI spoke again. "Garrus, I would suggest erasing your Extra-Net search on this terminal before leaving." With that, EDI's blue orb left the room to allow him his privacy. Garrus turned quickly and deletes any trace of what he was looking up before leaving.

He enters the Debriefing Room to find her standing there with her arms crossed along with the Asari and a Drell on the dossiers she received from the Illusive Man.

"This is my First Gunnery Chief, Lieutenant Garrus Vakarian." She said to the two of them. "This is Samara and Thane Krios." Garrus nodded at the two of them, Samara extended her hand to him for a hand shake. But Thane, the assassin, did not; he simply nodded, bowing slightly with his hands behind his back, his posture straight. "And that's pretty much the whole crew- minus Jack she stays down in engineering. You'll know her if you see her. I just wanted you to meet the squad if you have any questions and you can't find me, talk to Yeoman Kelly Chambers. That'll be all." Quinn said curtly to the Asari and the Drell, before they left the room and headed to their new quarters. When they were alone he spoke up.

"So how were Miranda and Jacob?" Garrus walked towards her. Shepard leaned up against the table and folded her arms across her chest.

"They were getting stir-crazy; Jacob was practically begging me to let him off the ship." She stood in front of him now and noticed his mandibles tightening. Noticing his own anxiety, he looked away from her to prevent her from catching it even more.

"Commander I hope you are not upset about last night I was exhausted and I understand how rude I was being by starring at you." Garrus apologized to her; she just nodded and rubbed her neck. Her hand slid down and pushed her sleeve down off of her shoulder, exposing it.

"No. It's okay." She said, her hand still massaging her sore neck. Garrus tried not to glance at her nude shoulder, but it was in vain. Her neck and the way it curved in to her shoulder and from there to her arm. Humans were full of curves while he was jagged with sharp mandibles and plates. Once again she noticed his eyes scanning her over but she did not acknowledge it.

"No, really, I'm not mad about it." She said, pulling her sleeve back up on to her shoulder as soon as she did, he looked back up to her face. "I thought you needed a break." She tried to justify his absence on both missions, hoping he understood. Garrus thought it would be best to drop it...although he could tell something was not right between them. But he knew one thing and that was the fact that the tension between them was going to have to give, one way or another.


	8. Sidonis

__**Sidonis**__

She had been exceedingly run down lately. In between waking up her baby Krogan, who named himself 'Grunt' and making some stops for the crew and taking care of all of their drama, all she wanted to do was sleep. In the past two days she had taken care of the issue with Miranda's sister and figured out what really happened to Jacob's father. Jack had requested her help as well when it came to a Cerberus matter and even Grunt needed to talk to her. Even getting a good night's rest was a chore from the constant Eden Prime and Collector nightmares. She could not get a moments rest.

There was only one person on the ship that had not asked anything of her, and that was Garrus. She had been so busy that she had barely even talked to him at all since she came back from Illium**.**Quinn was actually pretty glad about that. It was not like she was avoiding him, she just needed time to figure out if pursuing him was what she really wanted. Jack's advice, or rather explicit encouraging words, about him made her think...Was he interested or was she getting the wrong signals? She could not tell with his alien expressions and body language. If he_was_human she would have fully understood his undertones, if he _was_ human she would have already made a move on him. It was not like it was with Kaidan...she liked Garrus's personality, he made her laugh, he was strong and his voice made her quiver.

She knew he could give her what she wanted. What she_needed_.She thought about what it would be like to be fucked by him. Oh Lord, just the thought of it made her soaking wet.

What more did she need to do? Come on stronger than she was already attempting? She knew she was subtle but it could not be as much as she thought. She did not know if that would scare him away, but she was unsure if her human flirting was working on him. Ultimately she knew her sexual attraction to him was becoming a distraction. Everyone else wanted to get loose ends out of the way before their suicide jump through the Omega 4 Relay, getting closure to things so they could focus on the Collectors. Maybe it was time for her to do the same; it was to the point where she was having a hard time focusing when she was not in the heat of battle. What would he think if he knew that the only way she could sleep at night was for her to touch herself and cum from the thought of him? Moaning his name just above a whisper, as she imagined him fucking her.

She had to let him know, she could not take it anymore.

_Okay, this is it_. Quinn thought as she walked toward the Main Battery she was going to do it, it was all or nothing. If he turned her down, so be it but she had to know. She paused at the door before opening it; he stood there at his terminal typing away. He was so focused on something that he almost did not know she was there.

"Garrus, can I have a word with you?" Shepard's voice got his attention and he turned to her, his mandibles tightened.

"Shepard I'm glad you are here, I need to speak with you as well." He said his voice rumbling softly with agitation loud enough for her to hear. Shepard's eyes widen at his declaration and she wondered what he was going to say to her. "Do you remember when I told you about my team?" He started to say. Quinn looked away and nodded, that was not what she hoped to hear but of course she was going to listen.

"Yeah." Shepard scratched her head. "You only told me briefly, I don't really know the details."

"I won't bore you then. I was betrayed by a member of my team and because of him all of my men were killed. His name is __Sidonis,__ all recorded sightings of him stop after he fled Omega but I have a lead on him. Word is he's currently at the Citadel." When he paused for a moment, she was rather surprise. She had never seen him look so angry, it was clear he was holding back some pent up rage. "I want to go there, find him and put a bullet in his fucking head." He growled, as he stopped in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder, making sure not to hurt her with his talons, he noticed how she tensed up when he touched her. "I need your help."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah sure, I'll tell Joker to plot a course to the Citadel." She knew he had to take care of this.

"I'm glad I can count on you, Shepard. Anyways, what is it you wanted to speak to me about?" He asked, removing his hand from her shoulder. She shook her head and looked at the floor a bit embarrassed.

"Nothing, it can wait." Quinn turned and exited the room not giving him a chance to respond or find out what she came for in the first place.

"So Harkin calls himself Fade now? What an egotistical ass-hole." Shepard exclaimed, as she made her way towards Harkin's office with Garrus and Jack in tow. Garrus would of rather have come here with just Shepard but if he had to choose one of their teammates, Jack would have been it. For some reason Jack and Quinn got along fantastically and she never got in Garrus's way. If there was one person that would understand his revenge, it was obvious that Jack would.

Shepard looked over to Garrus on the other side of where she stood before getting into position by the door and saw his tight mandibles and tense jaw. There was a burning in his eyes as they paused right around the corner from Harkin's office. They busted in, Harkin looked surprised that they made it past his heavy mechs. Harkin went to escape through the second door adjacent from the one they entered, but of course they were not a team for nothing. Garrus intercepted him and slammed him against the wall. Harkin went to speak and see if he could somehow calm the enraged Turian, but Garrus was not having any of it. Garrus drew back and punched Harkin in the face. Shepard bit her lip as she watched him, there was so much anger pouring out of him. She was not surprised to find that it was arousing to her.

He grabbed Harkin and kneed him in the groin, Harkin coughed and crumpled to the ground in pain.

"Holy shit" Jack said with a sadistic laugh as she glanced from Shepard and back Garrus. She saw the way Shepard was looking at Garrus. Jack chuckled and shook her head.

"I can't give out client in-information, it's bad for business." Harkin said stuttering slightly, his voice was full of fear at how brutal his ex C-Sec colleague had become. Garrus took his foot and rammed it hard against Harkin's neck; he lets out a gasp as he struggled to breathe, feeling as if his wind pipe was being crushed under the weight.

"You know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!" Garrus growled in response to his whining. It took everything in Shepard not to let out a moan, as she tried to control herself but he was getting her so hot without even knowing it.

"Garrus. He can't talk if you crush his vocal cords." Shepard said, a bit of humor behind her words as she touched his shoulder lightly to get his attention. Garrus paused for a moment; she could tell he was enjoying watching Harkin scramble for air. He finally removed his foot and allowed Harkin to stagger up. The ex C-sec officer limped over to his terminal, called _Sidonis_ and told him to meet up with his 'trusted associates' in the Orbital Lounge to discuss the possibility that his identity might have be compromised. The call ended soon after it began and Harkin looked over at the three of them. Garrus pulled out his gun and pointed it at Harkin. Shepard watched as he shot Harkin right in the leg.

"Fuck!" Harkin screamed, as he fell to his knees, they turned to leave the room but Harkin was still yelling profanities at them. "You stupid, fucking Turian. Useless mother fucker! You could not even keep your job at C-sec." Shepard had heard enough, she pulled out her pistol and stomped back over to Harkin and whipped him across the jaw with the barrel of her gun. Blood splatter fell from his mouth as she knocked him over the rest of the way to the ground. He groaned in pain as he spat out a few bloody teeth.

"Shut the fuck up." She snapped. Her voice growing cold and dangerous with each syllable she growled out through her clenched teeth. Quinn turned around and walked towards Jack and Garrus and with them in tow, went to exit the building.

"Both of you are some crazy fuckers." Jack said, as the exited into the recycled air of the Citadel to go find _Sidonis._

_The taxi came to a stop. There was silence for a moment before Shepard spoke. "So how is this going to go?" She asked, as they exited the taxi. Garrus looked around at the surrounding balconies and spotted an area he was content with._

_"There." He pointed, showing Shepard exactly where he would be. Choosing the darkest area was always best for this sort of thing. "I can get a shot from over there; all you have to do is keep him talking." Shepard nodded understanding._

_"You sure you wanna do this?" She questioned, reaching up to touch his shoulder but he snarled at her and avoided the contact of her hand._

_"Yes." He growled out shortly, turning away from her and walking towards his snipping spot. Shepard made her way to where she was supposed to meet Sidonis. He stood up after spotting her and walked towards her, she could tell that he was fearful. She felt anger grow inside of her. This man betrayed Garrus and turned him in to the jaded, angry man that he now was. There were not many people around them; Shepard had worried about how this would happen if there was a crowd._

_"You are in my way, move to the side." Garrus demanded, his voice snarling in her ear over the headset. She could warn Sidonis, but who was she to steal Garrus's revenge? He trusted her with this and she was not going to let him down._

_"This will only take a moment." She said, scooting over to her left. Sidonis knew something was up. He turned to walk away but a bullet went through into the back of his head, dropping him to the ground._

_There could have been reasons as to why Sidonis betrayed Garrus, but she did not need nor want any..._


	9. The Boiling Point

_A/N: This chapter is very mature. Enjoy. And thank you to my fantastic bata :D_

**The Boiling Point. **

Right kick, left punch. Shepard was once again down in the Cargo Bay alone, just her and her punching bag. Her swift movements cutting through the air as her fist made contact with the punching bag with a resounding slap. There was a hissing sound of the door opening behind her. She stopped and glanced over to the door, normally EDI would have let her know if someone was going to interrupt her alone time and give her the option to turn them away. But not this time, EDI had stayed silent and refused to alert her of Garrus's arrival.

"Commander." He said, his deep voice echoing throughout the room. The smell of her sweat and musk wafting towards him as soon as he stepped into the Cargo Bay. He let out a low growl at her scent but it was inaudible to her due to the high frequency, she smelt delicious to him. Seeing her soaked in sweat her muscles tight and out of breath, he wanted her so bad. Even more than usual after she had helped him kill Sidonis. His natural instincts to claim her as his mate were coming to fruition but he controlled himself using every ounce of his Turian discipline. Though he did not know how long he could last. He was a bad Turian, after all.

"Garrus." Shepard responded, as she stretched out her arms to loosen the tense muscles, looking over her shoulder to him. It was rare that she saw him dressed in his casual clothing. He looked at ease now knowing things were done with Sidonis. She thought back to last night, how she touched herself and came moaning his name. How now she had to clear the air between them...

"I wanted to thank you for your help today." Garrus said, his mandibles flaring as he smiled to the best of his ability.

"No problem, you know I got your back." Quinn said, as she cracked her back. The tense air seeming to grow thicker by the moment.

_You have to end this..._She thought.

"You know, it's strange going in to a suicide mission on a human ship, humans don't seem to prepare like Turians do." Garrus exclaimed calmly, as he leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms trying to seem casual.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her slender brow arching inquisitively.

"Turian commanders run us tight and they know we need to blow off steam. They have training rooms and even full contact sparing." Shepard's eyes narrowed as a grin came to her lips.

"Ever fight anyone?" She asked stepping towards him.

"Yeah, there was this one officer. We had been at each other throats, mostly nerves from upcoming missions. So we settled it in the ring one day, it was brutal after nine rounds they called it a tie. She and I had our own tie breaker in her quarters, I had _reach_ but she had_ flexibility_." Garrus said, looking at her with an expression she had never seen.

"Mmm. Well Garrus, I'm here you're here so we could spar if you want." She uttered to him in challenge, stepping closer to him. Knowing what she was going to do if it came down to a fight between them. She always studied her opponents. Garrus let out a smug laugh and shook his head.

"I couldn't"

"And why is that?" She snapped, crossing her arms and surveying his body language.

"I would destroy you; you have never fought one on one with a Turian. I'm stronger then you think."

"Try me, Lieutenant." She chucked, once again there was that sizzling in her voice that spoke volumes. He knew as well what would happen; he would lose control and do things to her he only dreamed of.

Sweating, groaning, and scratching would come from it and he was unsure if her soft human body could take him.

A nasty thought came to Shepard's mind, she wanted to get him mad, and she wanted all of that rage he had pent up to boil over. Shepard knew what to say and what buttons to push that would make him snap.

"No, I get it. You have to hold on to whatever little pride you have left." She teased with a smile on her lips. She watched his expression as it turned in the matter of seconds at her words.

"What?" He growled, uncrossing his arms from his broad chest. A low growl came from the back of his throat. _Ah yes that's it. _She thought, as adrenaline crept through her veins, rolling off her in waves.

"I understand, I mean you dropped out of Specter training, and lost your job a C-sec and your father disowned you. I know that fighting me and losing would break the small amount of pride you have left." She said, her words cutting through him, it was a slap in the face. He growled louder and soon after he saw red. Shepard did not have time to react before he snapped. He was on her slamming her against the wall, his sharp talons gripping her face. She let out a grunt as the wind was knocked out of her from the force he used.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" He raised his voice, he had never yelled at her before.

She could not help but to let out an excited and aroused laugh, which just added insult to injury. A noise came from Shepard's lips that he had never heard from her before. A moan.

She _needed_ this.

"Is that all you got, Vakarian?" She purred, still with smug smile across her lips from his reactions. The anger in his eyes was an unnerving, for a moment she wondered what the hell she had just gotten herself in to. He growled and tightened his grip on her face his talons digging harder in to her, almost breaking the soft pliable skin. Garrus could hear her heart thumping harder and harder as it pound violently against her chest.

Shepard swiftly moved her arm up and landed a hard punch to the side of his uninjured face. Knocking him away for a moment so she could escape his grasp but he didn't relinquish his grip and as soon as he gathered himself, he was on her again. Still pushing her against the wall but this time his talons gripped her neck for better purchase.

"Fuck you." He snarled. She let out a gargling groan from the bottom of her throat. Shepard maneuvered her legs around his slim hips knocking him off balance and both of them fell to the mats. She had miscalculated and Garrus obtaining the upper hand pinning her to the floor, and now holding her wrist. She struggled, yanking in an attempt to get out of his grasp. He looked down at her and laughed, mocking her. Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel, first human Specter, was now helpless under him.

Her hips grinding up against his pelvis, and he let out a growl at the sensation of her wiggling under him. She was so wet now feeling herself grow damp in between her spread legs at either side of his hips. He released her wrists, grabbing her and clawing her back. His sharp talons digging in to her flesh, knowing he had left angry red marks. She let out a noise that was between a painful gasp and a pleasured sigh. Garrus hissed at the sounds she made, he could feel himself growing stiff. It leaving its internal hiding place to greet her. A louder moan escaped her lips as she felt his thick cock push its way against her opening, only covered by the thin fabric of her shorts and the fabric of his pants.

He could not take another moment of this. They were past the point of no return; his cock could not take the aching for her any longer.

"I'm going to fucking destroy you..." He growled softly to her, his voice rumbling. She had never heard him say such dirty, nasty things. His words made her cunt throb and the scent of her arousal thicken to his nostrils. He moved his claws from her back and ripped her sports bra down the middle and yanked off her shorts. He then snatched her up and flipped her on her stomach and held both of her arms behind her back with only one hand. With his free hand he explored her body, first slipping it under her and fondling her breast out of curiosity, pinching her nipples with his talon until they were hard nubs. She whimpered at the sharp pain that it caused but there was also a sick pleasure that bolted through her. She was becoming a borderline masochist. His hand continued to explore her body and then made its way to her ass, squeezing the firm mound tightly. It felt almost as if he was playing with it, interested in the way it moved and how it felt. He moved his talons towards her cunt; he knew that was at the right spot. Wet and pulsing. He stroked a small engorged nub that protruded from her soaking folds. She cried out wiggling her hips as he touched her clit. Garrus revealed his member, pulling it from his pants and softly stroking her entrance with the tip. Shepard almost screamed with excitement as she tried to glance over her shoulder to see it but she couldn't. He pushed himself in to her. He was so big, it was like nothing she had ever felt. Thick, long and full of ridges. He thrust in to her with terrible pleasure spiking up and down his spine. Garrus let out a roar and had to pause for a moment, she was so wet and tight. His cock was stretching her tiny cunt to its limits.

Garrus felt his body tremble as he pulled out and rammed in to her again. Shepard cried out as her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

"Fuck-_ahhhh_-fuck me!" She moaned, every ridge on his cock rubbing her walls and his enormous cock filling her to the brim, hitting her g-spot every time giving her unimaginable pleasure.

He released her arms and dug his talons in to her hips, pounding fully in to her over and over again. She could not even think. There was nothing but how good he was making her feel. Raw, brutal, animalistic fucking. She did not give a shit about the Collectors, nor her crew or even the Reapers. All that she cared about in that moment was the next trust of his hips that would make her quiver and scream out.

His cock had never felt this good, ever. It was surreal for him. Here he was on the cargo bay floor fucking Commander Shepard and she was loving it and screaming his name. They had reduced each other to their basic forms, no status, no ranks, no reputations, and no names. Just a human woman who was writhing under a Turian man with every forceful thrust.

"You like that?" He growled in her ear, feeling himself grow close to cumming in to her tight, wet, warmth.

"Uh..uh huh.." She uttered, only able to answer better than she thought possible, the pleasure was too much. Her cunt tightened around his cock, her muscles quivering as she screamed out. Her increasing tightness causing him to cum as well.

"Ah! Garrus!" She yelled the orgasm so powerful that she did not know if she could handle it much longer. Garrus roared as his cum shot in to her, over filling her and spilling out on to the floor.

Her vision went hazy as she passed out in to pure darkness.


	10. The Trap

_**The Trap**_

_When Shepard awoke, she had no idea of what time it was but she was in her bed. For a moment she wondered if the pleasure she had shared with Garrus had been dreamt up, but the soreness in between her legs screamed that it was in fact reality._

_"Oh fuck..." She said, sitting up and feeling the claw marks that he had left on her hips and back. She had never felt as good as she did in those few moments with him than any other time with any other person. Shepard had been with a few human men that would have been called "good in bed" but they were nothing compared to how Garrus had fucked her. She was ruined; he had taken away any sexual attraction to her own kind. Quinn smiled and then saw her destroyed sports bra and shorts folded perfectly and placed in the chair by her._

_"EDI..." She exclaimed, but before she could ask anything of the AI, EDI spoke._

_"It is 0700 and yes Officer Vakarian did put you to bed, he was rather worried that he had seriously hurt you but I informed him that you had just fainted from a nervous system overload." EDI responded, knowing exactly the two questions that Shepard would ask. Quinn felt her face grow warm from a blush, let out a small amused chuckle and shook her head as she got out of bed. She let out a grunt from the stress on her sore limbs as she staggered to the shower and got ready for her day. It was going to be a very long day._

_"Good morning Comma-" Kelly started to say but then her words were cut short when she laid eyes on Shepard. "Commander you look rather exhausted." Kelly added, looking at Shepard's busted lip and the marks down her neck._

_"Yeah, it's been a rough mission." Shepard lied, taking a sip of her coffee and then looking over the galaxy map and her dossiers. She could feel Kelly's eyes still on her, assessing._

_"Chambers, what is it?" Shepard snapped towards her perky Yeoman._

_"I'm sorry Commander, it's just your face was not so battered when you returned from the Citidal yesterday..."_

_"Me and Officer Vakarian spared last night, he is rather…..strong." Shepard exclaimed nonchalantly, hoping not to give too much of what really conspired last night._

_"Yes, Commander, I'm sure he is." Kelly said, in her voice she could hear an amused tone. Quinn narrowed her eyes at Kelly but thought it was better to not say anything more to her about the situation. Shepard grunted and made her way to the elevator to the crew deck. As soon as the elevator doors hissed open she saw Jack standing right in front of her. Jack stared at her for a moment, her eyes studying the fresh scars on her Commander's face. Jack's slender eyebrow slowly rose and then a smirk came to her full red lips._

_"I see that you followed my advice and got fucked." Jack simply stated, causing Shepard's mouth hang slightly open in shock._

_"How the fuck do you know?" Quinn uttered her voice not above a whisper; she looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot of them._

_"I can see it all in your face, you're fucking glowing. And judging by those scars, it had to have been Garrus that gave it to you." Quinn felt her face grow hot from her crew member's words. Damn this biotic, she was rather perceptive for not being a people person._

_"Shhh!" Shepard hushed her, looking around and hoping that no one came by any time soon._

_"What? You tryin' to keep it on the down low or something?" Jack questioned, folding her arms across her chest and the smirk creeping to the corner of her lips once more._

_"No, it's not like that." Quinn exclaimed, as her voice grew defensive for a moment as she glanced around again nervously and then let out a sigh. "I just don't know if he wants other people to know about it..."_

_"Calm down, Shepard. I'm not the gossiping type. Anyways, it's not like I talk to anyone else on this damn ship. Your cross spices fucking is your own damn business." Jack said a bit amused, walking past Quinn to her original destination. Shepard let out a small huff as she made her way down the hall towards The Main Battery. The walk felt like it took forever. What if he regretted last night? She could deal with awkward but not regret._

_"Fuck." She uttered, reaching the door and pressing the holopad to allow her entrance, it opening with a hiss and closing behind her when she fully stepped in. As always he stood at his console, his typing stopped as soon as she entered the room._

_"Commander." He said not even looking at her; her scent was enough to let him know that it was her._

_"Uh...Garrus...about last night." She mumbled and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I did not mean any of the rude things I said to you-" She started to say but Garrus' large voice cut her off._

_"You just wanted to make me so mad that I would fuck you, right?" He exclaimed, sounding angry with her. There was a short pause between them._

_"_I really fucked up this time..."___She thought. Quinn went to turn and leave but just as she did she heard him snicker._

_"Quinn. Come on. I was just joking." Garrus turned her around; as soon as he got a glimpse of her face he could tell she was not amused. Her arms folded across her chest and a slim eyebrow rose and twitched in agitation, her foot tapping on the metal floor._

_"Shepard you really thought I could ever be mad at you? You gave me the best sex of my life, why would I ever be upset about that?" Garrus defended, leaning up against the console, forgetting his calibrations for the time being._

_"Well I see you're not lacking any ego." Quinn said noticing his prideful posture._

_"I was worried, but then EDI told me you just fainted...because it felt so good. That is something to be proud about." He laughed. The deep vibrations of his baritone voice making her shiver slightly._

_"I think you ruined me for my own kind." Quinn said as she put her hands on her ample hips. "But what are we gonna do about the crew?"_

_"Shepard I'm not ashamed of what I did with you, but I think it's best to keep it quiet just to avoid the gossip. Scuttlebutt is already hard to prevent on this ship." Garrus responded, taking a step towards her and touched her face lightly with his gloved hand. Just his touch made her quiver, Quinn bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Garrus gripped her by her waist suddenly and pulled her closer to him, Shepard let out a surprised soft moan._

_"I want to feel you again." He growled in her ear, slipping his talon underneath her shirt._

_"Uhm, Commander." Joker's voice came over the speakers, trying to grab her attention._

_"What!" Quinn snapped, her good time ruined for the moment._

_"...I don't wanna interrupt anything but there's an urgent message from The Illusive Man." Joker said with a slight chuckle in his voice._

_"Fuck..." Shepard exclaimed pushing past Garrus, reluctantly._

_"Well too much for not letting anyone know." He said, shaking his head, his mandibles fluttering slightly._

_"Yeah. I'll make sure that those cameras are disabled." She snorted as she went to leave the room._

_"Commander. There are security cameras in every room and hallway on the ship. Including the Cargo Bay and your Cabin." EDI's voice randomly exclaimed through the console inside the Main Battery._

_"God damn it!" Shepard yelled, as she left the room and headed towards the communications room, mumbling curses on the way._

_"A disabled collector ship? Wow, this should be fun." Joker said sarcastically, unknowingly unaware that his Commander was right behind him, with her arms folded across her chest, already in full armor._

_"Cameras in the Cargo Bay, huh?" Shepard said, her voice almost making Joker jump from his chair._

_"C-Commander." He nervously exclaimed, with a strained smile, hoping it looked genuine but Quinn said nothing. "EDI..." Joker said, turning to the blue orb next to him._

_"I felt that the Commander should know." EDI's smooth voice responded._

_"Commander! There is a reason I know. Okay, so last night I was checking the ship when EDI informed me of strange noises coming from Cargo Bay so I turned on the cam and then saw...you know..." Joker explained quickly, his voice hitching out of pitch slightly. Quinn shook her head but could not stay mad with Joker._

_"I just don't want it getting around, okay?" She ordered in a commanding tone, hoping she got her point across to her pilot friend._

_"Sure thing Commander...and can I just say...Garrus was really getting it on. I never thought he had that in him."_

_"Joker….." She sighed, narrowing her eyes at him warningly._

_"Shutting up now, Commander."_

_They could see the disabled Collector vessel off in the distance, it was massive. Quinn shook her head at the sight wondering how a Turian fleet could take it out when others couldn't._

_"EDI, are we sure this thing is disabled?" Quinn asked, dreading the moment when she had step onto the Collector ship, she could feel her nerves getting the best of her._

_"Yes. Commander the Mass Effect Core is cold. It seems that everything is offline." EDI's responded, sounding reassuring._

_"Alright, then." Shepard said turning and heading out to the Cargo Bay._

_"Good luck, Commander." Joker exclaimed, watching her go as she left the bridge, hoping she'd be alright._

_Quinn was breathing hard and her heart was pounding as they stepped off of the shuttle and into the Collector ship. Garrus and Jack were right at her side, all of them in awe of the ship. The walls a mixture of dark and light brownish color curving above them like a dome. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, she could not help but to reach her hand out to touch the walls, she expected it to crumble like dirt but it was hard as steel and smooth but bumpy._

_"It's like a fucking hive." Jack said, her voice muffled by her mask and ear piece._

_"Come on. Let's get this over with." Shepard ordered as she pulled out her shotgun. They made their way deeper in to the bowls of the sleeping ship. They turned a corner and saw pods lining the ceilings, the same kind that they encountered on Horizon, but they were empty. They kept moving but as they turned __the corner she saw something odd and rotting. She felt lucky she had her helmet on. She could imagine the smell, but her mind felt grim._

_"This looks bad." Garrus exclaimed softly, his attention wavering from Quinn to what they had just come across. There were human bodies piled carelessly on top of each other, blood pooled around and under them, but they looked flat, like their bones and organs were missing, or sucked out. None of them looked at rest; even in death they could see the fear on their face. Their mouths open, their eyes gazing in to nothingness. Quinn could hear her crew mates talking but she was not listening, her eyes fixed on one of the corpses. A young girl, she had to be no older then fourteen and her eyes looking straight at Shepard. Quinn shook her head and slowly backed away from the pile._

_"Come on there is nothing we can do." Quinn said sadly, as she continued to move, readjusting her shotgun in her hands. Deeper and deeper they headed in to the ship. In front of them was another pod but this one was hooked up to a screening device, they approached it with extreme caution hoping nothing would pop out._

_It was a Collector. He was asleep, or so she thought anyways but she assumed it was dead._

_"Why would they do experiments on their own kind?" Jack said leaning in closer in an attempt to get a better look._

_"EDI, get this data." Quinn demanded through her head piece as she scanned it through her omni-tool._

_"Analyzing." EDI paused for a moment before they heard her voice once more. "Shepard, the Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity. The results reveal something remarkable. Their genetic structure is identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: The Protheans." Shepard's eyes widened as she looked up at Garrus. She could not see his face because of his helmet but she knew he was shocked as well as he shifted nervously from foot to foot and began to look around._

_"No fucking way..." She mumbled almost speechlessly, as she backed away from the pod. "So those fucking bastards are working for the Reapers now?"_

_"Their genes show signs of a major genetic re-write. The reapers have re-purposed them to suit their needs." EDI added curtly._

_"Man, that is fucked up." Jack said shivering lightly as she spoke from Shepard's side. Garrus could see the shock in Shepard's eyes through her visor, as she gazed down upon the dead Collector. He thought back to the Prothean VI that they had encountered before, all of their wonder of where they had gone now reduced to the creature before them. He somehow wished now that the secret of their disappearance stayed that way, a secret._

_"My god." Quinn mumbled still in shock. "EDI this data is priceless."_

_"Agreed." EDI answered back._

_"No one should suffer that. I bet killing a Collector is doing it a favor. Come on, we have to keep moving." She ordered heading down one of the dark damp halls, Garrus and Jack following in formation tightly. Now sporting their newly acquired weapons they found on the Collector's Base floor, they came to an open room where they began to travel upwards; there were more of the strange pods lining their way._

_"Holy shit, how many do you think are full?" Jack asked from Shepard's side._

_"I detect no life signs in the pods. It is possible that the victims died when the ship lost power." EDI responded._

_"All of those lives..." Shepard uttered sadly to herself as they made their way deeper in to the ship._

_"Uh Commander." Joker's voice randomly spoke, buzzing through her ear set. "You gotta hear this, on a hunch I asked EDI to run an analysis on that ship..."_

_"I compared the EM profiles recorded on the original Normandy...they are an exact match." EDI chimed in._

_"No way the same ship ridding me for two years? Something is wrong with this." Quinn said feeling the need to pull out her grenade launcher, just in case._

_"Yeah Commander something is really wrong, watch your back." Just as Joker finished his sentence the three finally came to the top, then looked up into the large room. The brightness blinding them for a moment before their eyes adjusted. _

_"Fuck." Was the only thing that Garrus could utter. They all looked up and Shepard lowered her weapon out of pure awe. Not hundreds, nor thousands but millions of pods covered the high ceilings and walls. Quinn felt her mouth grow tight and dry, her gut flipped at the sight._

_"They could take every human in the Terminus Systems and still not fill all of those pods." Jack stated._

_"They are targeting Earth." Garrus added, worriedly._

_"No, not if I can help it." Quinn grunted as her pace sped up. Garrus could tell that Shepard was uneasy; it was in the way she ran; her back slightly hunched, the vice grip on her gun, her finger close to the trigger, it itching to pull it. He could never understand what it was like for her, knowing she was in the very ship that caused her death two years ago. It must have been a haunting feeling._

_"Hey look!" Shepard exclaimed suddenly, when her eyes came upon a green glowing control panel straight ahead of them._

_"Why have we not seen any of the Collector Crew? Dead or alive?" Jack asked, but Shepard did not answer her. As soon as Quinn uploaded the Collector computer systems to EDI, there is a groaning noise that came from the ship as it shook slightly. It felt as if the ship had been awoken. Heavy tubs by the controls on the walls hissing and clicking as they seemingly came to life._

_"Joker what the hell was that?" She growled, knowing something bad was about to happen._

_"Shepard it's a trap." EDI responded quickly, and if she put more thought into it she would have thought her voice sounding worried, but just as she spoke the platform that they were on lifted into the air, all three of them were caught by surprise. Quinn lost her footing and started to slide off of the open side of the platform. Garrus grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back up. There was no time for her to thank him because when she looked up there was another platform headed towards them and on it were Collectors with high powered weapons._

_"Incoming!" Shepard yelled._

_The three of them made short work of the Collector crew, Shepard taking out the last one with a shot to the chest. Shepard manually reconnects EDI's link to the control panel. Her breathing harsh and her heart pounding violently, but she was relieved that it was over for the moment._

_"EDI, please tell me you have something we can use now." Shepard asked sounding out of breath._

_"Yes, I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay. I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. It is unusual." EDI said to them._

_"Go on." Shepard ordered crossing her arms, but her eyes looking around and her weapon still ready for action._

_"The Turian emergency channels had a secondary encryption. It is present but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe that_ _was genuine. I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them. " EDI explained._

_"That motherfucker!" Shepard yelled, punching the control panel with her fist. "He led us in to this trap! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when I get outta' here." She growled, Garrus was glad he was not on the receiving end of her rage._  
><em>"Uh...Commander. We've got another problem. The Collector Ship is powering up. You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!" Joker interrupted her fit.<em>

_"I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction." EDI said._

_"Come on let's get the hell outta this place." Quinn exclaimed quickly, raising her weapon. They ran through the dark halls of the ship, taking out wave after wave of Collectors that were in their way, the big boss they had encountered on Horizon as well was the worst of it. They almost did not make it. She was focused, taking them out one at a time, barley having anytime to breathe after each shot. They were close to the entrance, she knew it, but as soon as she had let her guard down for a split second there was another wave, this time of Husks. Hissing and attacking like mad, they grabbed at them and clawed and bit. Quinn could see the shuttle only a few yards away. Then she heard a cracking noise as one of the Husks smashed the visor portion of her helmet with its fist. The glass shattered in her face as it persisted in its attack, she could feel the cuts and the warm blood seeping from the slices sliding down her face. The salty sweat on her face stinging the cuts as the Husk's bony hands gripped her helmet, yanking her towards the ground. Shepard held her breath knowing that her oxygen was escaping from the cracked glass. She was scared. It was space all over again._

_"Shepard!" Garrus yelled running towards her. There was a blast of blue biotic energy that zoomed past Shepard and destroys the Husk attacking her._

_"Got it!" Jack yelled behind him running towards her as well. Shepard staggered for a moment unable to see because of the blood in her eyes, she instinctively took a gasp of air from lack thereof and then started to choke and suffocate. Garrus swooped Shepard up into his arms and he and Jack ran as fast as they could to the shuttle. As soon as the door was shut the shuttle took off to the Normandy._

_"Quinn. Quinn!" Garrus yelled at Shepard who was unconscious from oxygen deprivation. He pulled the damaged helmet off of her, there was glass stuck in the side of her face and she was bleeding profusely._

_"Commander!" He yelled again, tapping her face gently, avoiding her cuts. Her eyes twitched and she let out a pained grunt and took a deep breath._

_"I'm fine." She spoke, her voice raspy after she gasped for air. "Ow, my fucking face." She growled._

_"Damn Shepard, I think you are going to need the do__c to look at that." Jack said, relieved even though she would never admit it._


	11. Confessions

A/N: Yes! Ta-daa! Once gain thank you to my awesome bata! Enjoy.

**Confessions **

Shepard walked through the ship, her face battered and bruised as she made her way from the Med-Bay with twenty stitches on the side of her face. Her head was throbbing with a horrible rhythm and her eyes could not stand the brightness of the ship's hall lights. A small groan escaped from her swollen lips, just as Jokers voice came over the speaker.

"Call coming in from the Illusive Man, Commander. Figured you've got a few words for him too." He said. Quinn narrowed her eyes as soon as she heard, her teeth grinding against each other in annoyance.

"Tell him to keep his ass on the line." She ordered.

Quinn stood in-front of T.I.M by way of hologram, with a glass of brandy held lazily in her hand. Her eyes narrowed and wished they could burn right through him.

"What?" She spat.

"I never thought of you as a drinker, Shepard." He answered before he took a drag of his ever present cigarette.

"Well apparently you didn't do your research before spending billions of credits on bringing me back." She snapped, pausing to take a drink. "You fucking tricked us, and sent us on that damn ship knowing it was not disabled!"

T.I.M sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, "You and I both know that it was necessary and the data EDI uncovered was very useful." He finished nonchalantly, further angering her.

"Why did you lie to me? I put my crew in danger because of you!" Quinn argued her face tense up wishing she could choke him right then and there or let a well-placed shot of her missile launcher meet his face.

"I could not have risked the Collectors finding out that you were coming, keeping you in the dark as well was my only option." He said calmly. "Also I believe we have figured out a way to successfully navigate through the Omega-4 relay. We need to acquire a Reaper IFF to allow us to enter safely." Shepard rubbed her forehead and grunted.

"Do you realize I was just on a fucking Collector ship! I could have gotten the IFF from there." She yelled. Her migraine was killing her.

"You would not have had time, and we have other options. In the meantime keep building your team and I will be in contact with more information at a later time. Also...I would like Miranda to talk to you about your drinking, it might become a problem." He scolded her as he put his cigarette out in the ash tray next to him. Shepard barked out a laugh as she finished her brandy. He was such a damn hypocrite. She had seen him smoke and drink his fair share. Who was he to talk?

"You know what; I finally understand why you have to meet me via hologram. It's because you are scared that I would walk right over there and shove your expensive cigarettes up your ass. You pompous motherfucker." Quinn saw the slight look of shock creep over T.I.M's face. "Joker kill this connection." She said curtly, watching the feed cut off after a moment's hesitation. "What a douche."

"I'm going to have to agree with you on that Commander." Joker's voice said over the speakers, as Quinn left the debriefing room and made her way to the elevator. Her destination, the Crew Deck. She could already feel her large glass of brandy getting to work. The small buzz numbing the throbbing in her head. As soon as she stepped off the elevator Miranda stomped up to her in all her silicone glory.

"Did you say you were going to shove The Illusive Man's cigarettes up his ass?" Miranda asked looking rather angry with her Commander for the insubordination towards her employer.

"No, I said that the reason that our meetings are not face to face, is because he is scared that I would." Quinn responded with a smile as she walked away from her fuming XO, and made her way to one of her favorite part of the ship. The Main Battery.

The door opened with its usual hiss, but to Shepard surprise he was not at his terminal but sitting on his cot, his head bowed slightly. "You alright, Garrus?" She asked, stepping in and the door closing behind her.

"I should be asking if you are alright." He said looking up at her, noticing she was swaying slightly and the faint smell of alcohol was wafting off of her.

"I almost lost you...again." He grunted and shook his head. He heard her let out a small laugh as she approached him and stood in front of him. He took assessment of her, her Cerberus uniform thrown on lazily, the shirt open exposing a thin white undershirt; he could see the faint outlines of her nipples. He could not help but to let out a low groan liking what he saw.

"No you didn't, I'm good as new." She exclaimed pointed to her stitches. Garrus loved her scars, every single one. Even though he had only seen her fully nude once, he remembered each scar that he saw, the reddish orange of her cybernetics peeking through them. "You know Garrus; you don't have to sleep down here." She said leaning over him, putting her hands on his knees. The mix of her scent and alcohol was making him mad with lust; he could feel himself growling and wondered if she could even hear such a low frequency of noise.

"And where do you think I should sleep?" He questioned cautiously, hoping to hear what he wanted to hear.

"Well, this cot can't hold the both of us now can it?" She responded, almost with a purr, leaning in closer to him and breathed him in. He smelt like nothing she could describe in human terms. She craved him bad.  
>"You can sleep in my cabin." She whispered, her hands clinging and grabbing at his armored knees.<br>"Mmm. The crew would find out." He panted lightly, enjoying the feeling of her hot breath on his neck.

"Fuck the crew." She said, as her hand reached up to his fringe and started to stroke it tenderly. His growl grew louder and his eyes began to darken. "I want you in my cabin in 20 minutes, that's an order." She exclaimed, pulling away from him and heading to the door.

-

Garrus was nervous. The first time they were 'together' he had no idea how it would happen but it happened, it was so random. But this, this was planned; he knew what was going to happen when he walked in to that room. Not like he was complaining, he wanted her so bad but he was still as nervous as that day. When he came to her door his mandibles tightened and he took a deep breath before entering. He saw her sitting at her desk, her hair wet and only wearing a small shirt and underwear. She turned in her chair and looked at him, a smile creeping in to the corner off her mouth. She slowly spread her legs open just the slightest bit and raised her eyebrow at him invitingly.

"Don't gawk it's rude." She said jokingly as she stood up and walked over to him. He swallowed hard and tried to cover his nervousness but he could not help it.

"Last time I did not get to see all of you." She said running her hand down his broad chest, once she reached the bottom she slipped her hand underneath the fabric of his pants and began touching him. His plates were already shifted, but there were patches of exposed skin in between that she stroked with her finger. His growling started again, as he leaned over to her neck smelling her, wanting to claim her. Quinn's remaining hand left his torso and started to pull on his pants, his cock was already unsheathed and waiting to greet her. He was disappointed when she pulled away from him and confused as she slowly knelt in between his legs. The sight of him made her smile; it was everything she expected it to look like. Thick, bluish and long. She licked her lips and then wrapped her mouth around his cock. Garrus let out a roar at the feeling of her mouth, so warm and wet, yet it felt so much different then what was in between her legs... He had never experienced something like this; oral sex was something Turian's Did. Not. Do. Their long and sharp teeth were not a welcome sight for such a thing. He gripped her by her wet hair and forced her to take more of him, Quinn let out a small choke but quickly adapted. He was panting and growling, his talons scraping her scalp as he bucked in to her mouth.

Shepard moved her head up and Garrus let out another growl but this one was disappointed that she had removed him from her lips. She said nothing; she just removed her white tee shirt and threw it carelessly across the room. She returned back to sucking him off, Garrus could feel his legs becoming weak. He was going to cum; he did not know what do to. Pull out? This was unheard of in Turian culture and she could possibly get sick from what he had read upon...but before he could even attempt to ask Shepard what she wanted. He came, hard. Garrus gripped her hair even tighter holding her in place as he spilled his seed in her mouth and to the back of her throat. Shepard did not protest one bit, the taste was rather pleasing and almost sweet. He came too much for her mouth to handle and some of his seed began to drip down onto her bare breast.

"Shepard-I-" Garrus started to say in panted breath once she removed him from her mouth. This sort of thing was taboo to him; she must have been disgusted or angry that he did not warn her that he was close. He looked down at Shepard who was scooping up his cum on her chest and sucking it off her finger.

"Mmm." She moaned. "You taste sweet." Garrus stood there in awe of her and could not take it. Her cum soaked bare breast, the smell of her arousal that hung strong in the air, how he felt his cock throbbing with desire for her once again. He suddenly grabbed Shepard by her shoulders, his sharp talons grasping her soft skin and almost breaking it. She let out a surprised squeak as he pushed her towards the bed. Quinn stumbled and fell hard on her knees; within a few steps Garrus was already fully unclothed. He picked her up and threw her on the bed like a rag doll. Shepard never noticed how ominous his form was until he was on top of her. For a short moment he smelled her, burying his face in her neck, until she let out an impatient, wanting moan and slightly bucking her hips toward him. Garrus let out a chuckle at how demanding she still could be even though she was under him.

"Mmm. What are you waiting for?" She whispered seductively to him. Garrus didn't answer; he simply gave her what she wanted. He slowly sunk himself inside her, painstakingly slow. Quinn whimpered and pushed herself down towards him, not wanting to wait. She was still sore from their previous encounter but she did not care, all she wanted was for him to fill her.

"Spirits..." Garrus mumbled behind gritted teeth, his mandibles flaring heavily. He trusted hard in to her, and Shepard was flung in to rapture, her toes curling and her hands clinging onto the bed sheets.

"Ahhh!-fu-fuck." She stuttered a scream as the paced quickened, his rock hard cock slamming in to her again and again. Whatever she was moaning Garrus could not make it out. It was all a jumble of nonsense, as her eyes rolled in to the back of head and her back arched with pleasure. He gripped her hips, his talons leaving red marks on her skin as he slammed into her. Her body quivered under him, as she let out a cry.

"Say my name." He suddenly demanded with a low growl. Quinn tightened her lips attempting to form understandable words but only gasps came out.

"Say it." He ordered once again, as he trusted harder and angled himself deeper. Shepard felt her climax spill over as she finally screamed.

"Gar-Garrus! Ah!" She yelled reaching for him, her arms pulling him close to her as she came. Her hands trembling, grabbing at his back plates greedily. Garrus found himself cumming also, letting out a roar and  
>spilling himself deep inside of her. Quinn's hands dropped in exhaustion and she let out an extremely pleased sigh, her limbs trembling from the after affect.<p>

Garrus pulled out and shuffled next to Quinn, grabbing the bed sheet and covering up with it. Shepard sat up and pulled something off of the night stand. She slipped a cigarette in her mouth and lit it, inhaling it and letting the smoke fill her lungs.

"You smoke?" Garrus asked as he ran his talon through her still damp hair, massaging her scalp.

"I normally don't...since being back I'm just finding it harder to say no to the vices I once enjoyed when I was on Earth." Quinn sighed as she exhaled smoke out of her nose.

"Vices huh?" Garrus questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him. "You know Shepard- I don't know much about your life before the Alliance." He hoped she would indulge him as his hand still combed its way through her hair. Shepard took a long drag and then put her cigarette out, she was silent for a moment but then she spoke, her voice growing more serious than he had ever heard.

"I never knew my mother or father; they died when I was only a year old. So I was brought up my Nana in Atlanta, Georgia." She out another sigh and rubbed her forehead. 

"I'm not very verse in Earth geography." Garrus noted as he lowered his talon from her head stopping his ministrations and letting her regain her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. It's in the United States, a southern state...I have been gone so long I've lost my accent..." She said, reaching back to her night stand for another cigarette. "We call it the dirty south." She chuckled lighting another smoke once she reached it and had it in between her digits.

"And by dirty I mean it. The rich areas of Atlanta are advance but where I'm from was far from it. My Nana did all she could to protect me from the harshness of the world." She took another drag. "She died when I was thirteen; I had nowhere else to go but the streets. Just another orphan." Garrus wanted to say 'sorry' to her for her childhood but he knew Shepard did not need his pity nor did she want it.

"I soon found out that if I did not get tough I would be forced in to prostitution or killed, neither were an option. I stole my first gun within a week of being alone on the streets and never looked back." Shepard paused and shifted her weight. "By the time I was sixteen I was notorious with a warp sheet at least three pages long. Assault, robbery, gang violence, arson, drug trafficking, grand thief auto, grand larceny and even murder." Shepard exclaimed as if it was only natural, Garrus only shook his head in response.

"All that shit I did and the cops never caught me, I was that good and the top female in the Tenth Street Reds. Everyone called me "The Girl" I was bad..." Quinn said with a smirk creeping in to the side of her lips.

"How do you go from that to being the celebrated hero you are today?" Garrus questioned, still not being able to wrap this head around what she was telling him. Shepard shook her head and grunted.

"It all started when I got mixed up with this guy, Morris. He was a bad one like me, but unlike me he 'loved' using drugs. When I got with him it started innocently enough, a little drinking and party here and there and soon it turned into getting drunk every night and getting high on my own supply...and of course that is bad for business. Before him, I was about making money and kill anyone that came in the way of me and my credits. But in those few months I was fucked up. I was hooked on almost every drug I could get my hands on. Mostly Earth classics like cocain and Oxycontin but I loved Hallex- fuck that was the best high ever." Quinn said as she scratched her head. Garrus could never see her as a hard drug user. He knew she liked to drink but he always thought of it as a stress reliever for her. Unknowing it had a root to her dark past.

"But all that changed when I caught my boyfriend Morris taking my Hallex and fucking another girl- well it was not the fucking that threw me off of the edge, it was that they took my last dose of Hallex. I flew of the  
>handle, the girl somehow got away from me but my so called boyfriend was not so lucky." Garrus shifted his weight on the bed and tightened his mandibles wondering what she would say next. "There was not much of a struggle, I was just mad with rage...and I shot him right in the head." Shepard said. "I was shit...going from a lonely orphan who made herself in to one of the most feared women in that city. I had accomplished nothing and yet so much. I was done with it- so tired for that life style I guess and killing him was the breaking point." Garrus searched her expressions for a small hint of remorse for the things that she had done but there was not a hint of it. "I turned my self in to the police for the murder of my boyfriend." Quinn chucked. "Come to find out they were after him for the rape and murder of three women...street justice they called it. But that was not the only surprise the police had for me. For those short years of my crime spree I never killed nor hurt an innocent person. It was not my intention, it just happened that way. The people I took care of were the worst of the worst, they got in my way of my credits and they did not respect me so I hurt them. The judge hearing my case offered me a chance...enlist in the Alliance and get clean or twenty to fifty years in prison for the crimes I had committed. I guess their enrollment was way down and it's clear that choosing the military was the only thing I could do. Out of all the things I learned from myself it was that violence can be used for good..." Shepard stretched and laid down next to Garrus.<p>

"Mmm. But sometimes I feel my old vices nipping at me. I don't crave the hard shit anymore but a smoke and a drink once in a while really helps." She said pulling the sheet over her naked body. Garrus rested his head on the head board and looked up at the ceiling lights, trying to imagine the Shepard that she once was.

"Well it's a good thing that old Shepard was not a trouble maker on the Citadel under my jurisdiction. I would have caught you." Garrus joked with her, hoping to break some of the tension. Shepard let out a snorting laugh and shook her head.

"Yeah I don't think so." She retorted, snuggling next to him.

"So what's next Commander?" He asked putting his arm around her, allowing himself to get more comfortable.

"Well, we have one more dossier." Shepard responded tiredly. 

"Tali?" Garrus noted. She always did keep him up-to-date on things. He was unofficially the second in command.

"Yeah. The crew is not complete without her..."

* -*


	12. Tali

**Tali**

Garrus did not have much of a good night's rest, and though he loved sleeping next to Shepard, he really did but sleeping next to her was not for the faint of heart. In her sleep she talked, mumbled and even sobbed. Garrus found himself waking up constantly to see if Quinn was alright. Shepard would say things about Eden Prime, whispering Nihlus Kryik's name and apologizing that she did not get there sooner to save him. Her sleeping words changed to grunts and groans, Garrus witnessed her gripping the bed sheets and folding herself in to the fetal position. She looked like she was in extreme pain, he thought about waking her up but that might cause more problems than it would solve. Startling a dreaming Quinn Shepard was a risky action that he was about to act on. Who knows what she had hidden underneath her pillow. Maybe he should talk to Dr. Chakwas about getting Quinn some sleeping aids. On top of all that he was finding her human bed not doing a thing for his Turian physiology. He soon found out that laying on his back was not comfortable for his leg spurs and the slightest flinch could even tear the sheets. He knew she would not be happy if he did that.

At 0500 hours he found himself slipping out of her bed as silently as he could. He heard a breathless sigh from beside him as Quinn slipped over and got more comfortable. Garrus could not help but think of how peaceful she looked. She laid there completely in the nude, the bed sheets only covering her left leg. Her black hair was more of a mess then it normally was, tousled randomly on the pillow, her full lips half open. Garrus smiled to himself and picked up his clothing off of the floor and got dressed and quietly left his lover's cabin. Maybe he could get a bit of rest before their next mission...

Shepard let out a yawn and stretched, her hands reaching for the Turian that was no longer beside her. Quinn opened her eyes and looked around, feeling slightly disappointed that he was absent from her bed.

"I bet he's off doing fucking calibrations again." Shepard swore as she sat up and stretched out. "EDI, what time is it?" She asked as she slipped out of bed and walked over to the bathroom.

"It is 0700 hours, Commander." EDI's monotone voice chimed in over the speakers.

"Hmm..." Quinn mumbled to herself as she stepped in to the shower. She let out a grunt at the sourness that Garrus had left in between her legs. It hurt but it was the good kind of pain, something she was proud of like an athlete after they had trained and gotten a toned body. Quinn chuckled at herself at her analogy and shook her head and stepped out of the shower, threw on some cloths and got ready for her day.

"Good morning, Commander." Kelly said as soon as Quinn exited the elevator. Her Yeoman was chipper as always.

"Morning, Chambers." Shepard said shortly as she made her way to her terminal with a few clicks her eye brow rose at one of her unread messages. It was from Kaidan, again...

"Fuck, just what I need." She swore as she rolled her eyes. She could tell Kelly was looking over to her, interested in this new message that Shepard had. Shepard narrowed her eyes as her finger hovered above the email, debating if she should open it. Her eyes read over the title again...

**I guess you are ignoring me...**

"I don't have time for this bullshit." Quinn uttered to herself, closing out her messages. She would deal with it another time, if she remembered that is. She shook her head and made her way to the Tech-Lab upgrades were more important right now then Kaidan's melodramatics. How dare he? She ignored his first message just to save him the verbal-shit storm message filled with oh so much venom but now she just wanted to tell him what she really thought. That he was a bitch who did not know how to deliver a good fuck if it kicked him in the ass. She would also include how good Garrus made her feel when he dug his talon in to her back and gave her the best bedding of her life just to spite him. Was that a childish thing to say to an ex-lover? Would she even call him or consider him an ex-lover? No. More like a one nightstand. He was there, he offered and she needed it. Simple as that.

She was already annoyed by the time she reached the upgrade terminal and to make matters worse she could see Mordin staring at her from across the room.

"_What the hell does he want now?"_ She thought, knowing that he was going to go on some long scientific talk about this and that and she would not understand half of it. She liked Mordin, she really did but he never stopped talking once he started and he talked way too fast to be understood sometimes. It gave her a migraine half the time. Mordin left his normal desk and walked up to her, waving his Omni-Tool next to her nonchalantly.

"Hmmm. Interesting." He mumbled rubbing his chin absentmindedly.

"What?" Quinn almost snapped but she calmed her inner annoyance.

"Yes, yes. Large amounts of Turian pheromones present, has mated very recently with a Turian male. I would say less than twenty four hours ago." Mordin responded in his usual quickness. Not even bothering to refrain from butting into her personal business, like usual. Quinn looked at him and tightened her lip.

"_Fucking fantastic..."_

"Mmmm. Lieutenant Vakarian! Yes. Only logical option. Only Turian on board. The lingering scent is strong and potent pheromones will be detectable to all other Turian's that come within your surroundings." He spoke looking at her, blinking his big eyes as if all he spoke of was idle conversation and not embarrassing scuttlebutt.

"...So you are saying that every other Turian can...can smell him on me?" Shepard choked out the words, her voice becoming a bit rough and dry from the thought of such a thing. So much for keeping this on the down low, Joker knows, Jack knows, Mordin knows and so will every other Turian she walks past. Awesome.

"Correct."

"How long does it last?" She asked raising a slender brow in question. She really would rather not know, but the curiosity was killing her.

"Hmmm, a few weeks at the least."

"A few weeks?"

"Correct, normally the pheromones would fade within a week or two but Lieutenant Vakarian's scent is unbelievably strong. Hmmm. Yes very interesting, he feels rather deeply for you." He said looking at his Omni-Tool, analyzing a bit of data he got from scanning her. "Shepard, I wish you would have come to me for inter-species mating information. I could have given you informative videos, human and Turian anatomy scans and ointments for chafing." He blinked at her, took a breath, paused, and then continued. "Oh! Yes. Please remember- not to...ingest." He said to her, Shepard's eyes widened and she could not help but to laugh. "Shepard, I'm serious. There is nothing funny about dextro-acid related allergies! It can be very dangerous." Mordin pleaded exasperatingly, but Shepard could not stop laughing.

"Mordin, ha. Don't worry about that. Already happened and I'm fine." She chuckled; Shepard looked at the Salarian doctor who had a shocked look on his face. Shepard could not help but to laugh again at his expression. Maybe Mordin finding out about her and Garrus was okay after all if she got this reaction from him.

"Zero adverse reactions?" He asked skeptically.

"Nope, not a thing." Shepard responded him curtly; she could not believe that she was even having this conversation with him but knowing the Doctor, he would not let it go until his curiosity was sated.

"Interesting, interesting. Would like to run a few-" He started off excitingly on his scientific jargon but Quinn cut him off.

"No, no tests, Mordin." She voiced sternly, as she turned back to the terminal to resume checking for upgrades.

"Data would be useful in helping other inter-species couples. Just a simple mouth swab." He smiled nodding his head. Shepard gritted her teeth; he really was not going to let this go was he? Maybe she should have just kept her big mouth shut.

"Fine..." She reluctantly agreed. Mordin was over joyed as he walked right over to his desk and grabbed a mouth swab out of a package and walked back over to Shepard. Mordin administered the test quickly and it was done. Anything for inter-species lust she guessed.

"Thank you, data may prove useful!" He said, Quinn nodded her head and left the Tech-Lab no longer able to stand the questioning eyes of the Salarian Doctor. Already she felt she had an eventful day and she had not even stepped off the ship yet.

Quinn could slap Tali for getting herself in such a mess, she was on Halestrom, the once Quarian home-world but now the sun burned almost anything it touched alive and the Geth numerously ran into it and didn't seem affected at all. All of this trouble because she was on some kind of scientific mission to retrieve information about the quickly dying sun that loomed overhead. Quinn wished she could have made Tali join her the first time they reunited after she woke up. Shepard and Tali were close, best friends in fact and if anything happened to her Shepard would not be able to forgive her self.

Her, Garrus and Thane had a hard time finding cover on the planet, the sunlight clipping through their shields in seconds. The harsh starlight felt like it was ten times hotter than the Earths sun could ever be, she was covered in sweat and her butt felt like it was swimming in it and the Geth were not making it any better.

"Fuck these ass holes!" She swore loudly over the sound of gun fire, growing madder and madder as they fought wave after wave.

A shot ricocheted off one of the Geth's guns hitting Shepard in the shoulder; there is no time for medi-gel so she was forced to fight through the pain. Garrus tried to reach her but he was cut off by more Geth. Quinn could feel the blood pooling in-between and out her armor plates staining the polished paint of her well-worn armor. "What a day." She uttered to herself.

Finally, after pushing through a rather tough wave, they reached an alive Quarian who had a missile launcher; firing off shots every so often he could find an opening.

"Who are you?" Shepard questioned as she dove into cover next to the now obviously injured Quarian.

"My name is Kal'Reegar." He responded breathlessly clinching his missile launcher.

"Well Kal', I'm Commander Shepard." Before she could even finish what else she was going to say he cut her off.

"Commander Shepard? Tali talks about you all the time." He said with a forced laugh.  
>"Is she alive?" Quinn asked, her bleeding shoulder screaming for medical attention. Hitting a few keys on her omni-tool a good amount of medi-gel began to knit some of the tender flesh together and stop the bleeding.<p>

"Yeah, Miss Zorah nar Rayya is safe. But there is a Geth colossus that is in the way, it has a repair system, it's a bitch to take down." He grunted curtly.

"I'll take your word on it." Quinn said confidently. She had faced colossus before, she knew exactly where he was getting at.

"I can help; my missile launcher is not fried yet." He responded forcefully knowing he wanted revenge for all his lost comrades. Quinn was impressed with his will to keep fighting but she couldn't let him do that. He looked battered and torn and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she let all the marines died helping to protect Tali.

"No. Stand down. We will get it." She ordered and after a good talking, he finally relented. And they did get it, the Geth and their colossus where no matches for the adrenaline rush that Shepard gained while fighting them. Garrus watched her fight; even injured she was a force to reckoned with. Her biotic's were much stronger than they used to be, the blue glow of her mass effect field creped in her hands right before she attacked. They got the door unlocked and Quinn was more than relieved to see Tali alright.

"Shepard!" Tali almost squeaked, excited to see her.

"Fuck Tali, did you just want to get yourself in the most danger you could?" Quinn joked as she hugged the young Quarian.

"No, not intentionally but I'm so glad you are he- Quinn you are bleeding." Tali stuttered not being able to finish her first thought before going to the second, sounding worried at the obvious shoulder wound she had.

"Eh, all in a day's work." Quinn said joking about the injury knowing it wasn't yet healed completely but it was getting there. She would have a scar though, that's for sure. They heard something behind them and noticed it was Kal'Reegar. Shepard was surprised at Tali's reaction; she ran up and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you are alright." Tali said softly to him. Quinn glanced over to Garrus with a smile and they both shook their heads at the two obviously love struck Quarian's.


	13. Scuttlebutt

** Scuttlebutt**

"Shepard do you have any idea how much it cost to bring you back?" Miranda asked looking over Quinn's injured shoulder.

"Hmmmm. Billions?" Shepard answered almost defiantly. A small smug smile crept on to the corner of her lips.

"Yes, four billion credits and you are trying to find every way to mangle your new body." Her XO argued. There was a tense silence between the women for a moment. Miranda still looking over her Commander's still bleeding shoulder. Miranda let out a sigh before she spoke again. "When we first got your body into the lab we didn't think that we could put you back together. Your suit was melted to your skin from entering the atmosphere of the nearby planet and frozen due to the planet's below zero weather. You were just a mass of destroyed flesh and bone." Shepard said nothing in response to Miranda's words as she stitched her up. "To tell you the truth, when we had to remove your helmet it was a rather nerve wrecking experience to see your face for the first time." Quinn shuffled uneasily in her seat. "Your eyes were open but there were no eyes, just the sockets. They had been destroyed from the heat of your fall. I don't think you truly understand how dead you really were, zero brain activity, fully collapsed lungs, and your blood had dried up in your veins." Miranda quipped as she finished the stitching and rested her hand on Shepard's uninjured shoulder.

"Thank you for the gruesome images Miranda." Shepard noted. Miranda removed her hand and turned her back to her and continued speaking avoiding the obvious hint to stop.

"The Illusive Man will say that he wanted you just how you were before your death...but there is one thing he wanted to change." She said crossing her arms across her well-endowed chest. "We had talks about making you sterile. He thought that if you still had the ability to give birth to a child it would jeopardize the mission. He wanted to fix you." Miranda said not facing her. Quinn said nothing but she subconsciously stroked her abdomen. Damn that bastard. "I could not take it from you….I just….since I can't have children I could not take that from you, Shepard." There was a pause. "Shepard, I may be over stepping my boundaries here but I need to speak freely. Your relationship with Garrus is...troubling." Miranda uttered, Quinn only looked up and narrowed her eyes. "Not just from a personal stand point, but also it can be dangerous to the mission."

"Miranda, I really appreciate everything you have done for me. I really do. But I think I can handle my personal matters by myself." Shepard shook her head, huffing. This conversation was not one she really wanted to have but she indulged Miranda. The least she could do was listen for a bit.

"I did not mean to be rude it's just...oh never mind." Miranda mumbled, resting her hands on the desk in front of her.

"It's that you left me in tact in hopes that after this was all finished I could become a mother but I chose a man that I can't have kids with instead.." Shepard said standing up, rubbing her shoulder. It felt sore, strained and stiff. Miranda did not speak, but her eyes told her that what she just said was the truth. "Think of it Miranda, you played mother to me by bringing me back and you are mothering the galaxy by helping me take down the Collectors and Reapers."

"Shepard I'm sorry….I was out of line. It's just so different, humans and Turians being together..." Miranda apologized while rubbing her forehead with her slender hand. A headache was starting to form. One she was hoping wouldn't manifest.

"Don't worry about it." Shepard said rubbing her shoulder. "Thanks for patching me up, I gotta go talk to Tali."

"Of course, Commander.". Miranda responded, and with that Shepard made her way out of the Med-Bay. One of her arms was pulled out of her tank top, her shoulder wound exposed. A few drops of blood staining her white shirt. Quinn caught the elevator down to Engineering and saw that Tali standing by one of the terminals. _Of course she is._ Shepard thought to herself, remembering back on to the old Normandy and how she stayed down by the Drive Core constantly.

"Shepard!" She exclaimed excitedly, her voice trailing off as she looked at her friend's bloodied shirt. "Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm good." Shepard responded, nodding her head. Quinn looks over to Kenneth and Gabby who were over at their stations talking away about tech as usual.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere to catch up?" Quinn asked hopingly, itching to talk to her best friend. It had been a long time, at least for them. It felt like just a few months to her.

"Sure, I would love too." Tali said nodding her head and clasping her hands in glee.

Everyone was granted shore leave since the team was finally together, at last. They docked at Omega and everyone on the ship was excited for a little R&R. Quinn slipped in to another short black dress and her black heels, finally she was going to enjoy it again. She stood in her bathroom and reached for a tube of red lip stick and applied it. She pushed her breast up and pushed them together, the black dress making her look sexier and curvier.

"Not bad." She said to her reflection. "Commander or hero no matter what, I still got it." She said admiring her curvy tone figure once more before leaving her cabin. She took the elevator up to the Main Deck, noticing that Kelly was not her station. She was probably already at After Life enjoying her youth. Then suddenly the door to the Tech-lab hissed open and Mordin walked out.

"Mordin, what are you still doing here? Everyone is allowed out for shore leave." Shepard reminded him as she brushed a small piece of fuzz off her tight black dress.

"Oh no, no. I will stay back and analyze Collector data. Much more interesting then loud music and dancing." Mordin spoke in his usual quick tone, stroking his chin and looking down at his Omni-Tool.

"You sure?" Quinn questioned. She didn't want to leave him out if she could help it.

"Of course, go and enjoy yourselves." He insisted. Shepard wanted everyone to go and unwind but if he wanted to stay back, it was up to him. She smiled and nodded and left the ship. Time to have some fun.

Everyone was already at Afterlife when she arrived. The dim red neon lights of the club made for a very seductive atmosphere. Last time she was there was to retrieve "Archangel." And then she was covered in her bulky armor and on a mission. This time she was more exposed, and gathered many looks from the men at the entrance and inside the club. Mostly Turian, she took notice, she knew the reason was because they could smell Garrus' pheromones all over her. Finally she spotted her crew in the dim club. Miranda and Kelly where on the dance floor gathering looks and whistles from the men around them. _Of course_. That was stating the obvious. Jack was at the bar slamming back shot after shot. Grunt was standing against a wall with his arms crossed against his bulky chest, glancing around and probably wondering what he was doing there. Quinn noticed that Samara and Thane where nowhere to be found, but then again, just like Mordin, they did not seem like the 'clubbing' type. Jacob was chatting up a group of pretty young women as they flirted back with him. She spotted Joker leaning back in one of the chairs watching an Asari stripper dance in front of him.

Quinn chuckled to herself as she walked over to the table where Tali was. She seemed to be watching everyone else. But there was one person missing from the group.

"Hey Tali." Shepard said as she took a set across from her.

"Shepard, you look fantastic." Tali said as she looked over her Commander's attire.

"Thank you. Hey, have you seen Garrus?" Quinn asked, glancing around trying to find the Turian in question.

"Yeah. He said he was going down to the markets for supplies. He said he would be back soon." Tali spoke as she tapped her three fingered hand on the table to the beat of the song that was playing.

"Oh, okay." She said with pause when an Asari waitress came over to take her order. "Can I get a rum and coke, please? You want anything?" She asked Tali who shook her head. The waitress smiled and left to retrieve her drink from the bar and returning within a few moments. "Thanks." Quinn said as she paid the Asari and tipped her. She took a swing of her drink and then looked back to Tali. "So Tali my dear, what's the dirt on this Kal'Reegar?" She said raising her eyebrow, a light teasing smirk on her lips.

"Oh Keelah, is it that obvious?" Tali giggled shyly.

"Sadly it is." Shepard laughed.

"What can I say, he is just so…" Tali paused as if she was searching for the right words.

"Sexy? Hot?" Shepard added.

"Yes, all of the above." Tali giggled again, Shepard knew that if she could see her face she would be blushing right now. Shepard glanced over to her right and noticed a table of three young Turian men looking at her; she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to ignore them.

"What about you Shep?" Tali asked. Man, Shepard knew that Tali was about to be floored by what she was about to say.

"Well, first. Let me say I had a brush with Kaidan on Horizon and it got a little heated." She said, Tali leaned in closer interested in the juicy gossip. She already knew all about how bad of a lover Kaidan was from Shepard back on the old Normandy when they would have their girl talks. "He had a fucking fit when he saw me." She took a sip of her drink. "He said he loved me! Can you believe that?"

"I can, that's the only thing he could say once you died. But to me, I just felt like he was milking it. I don't know...I mean, I knew you had only been together once and the way he acted was like you two had been together for years, or something. The one that took it the hardest was Garrus, Quinn your funeral almost erupted into a fist fight between the two. Garrus was so hurt by some of the things that Kaidan had dared to say to him."

"Yeah I heard about that." Quinn said, rubbing her hand on the side of the glass, trying to prepare herself for what she was going to tell Tali.

"Shepard….I really think that Garrus has always had feelings for you. Oh no, I should not have told you that, crap. Listen it's just-" Tali tried to say but Shepard could not hold in what she wanted to say any longer.

"Tali, me and Garrus are fucking." She spat out hurriedly. There was a pause and she knew the expression under the Quarian's mask must have been priceless.

"...keelah…." Tali mumbled with a slight laugh. "Wow."

"Yeah." Shepard nodded. Tali leaned even closer, her voice just above a whisper over the music but intended so only Quinn could hear.

"So how does that work?" She asked, Shepard went to explain but a strong, deep voice spoke before she could utter a word.

"Shepard." She heard the voice say from behind her, she mouthed an 'I'll tell you later' and a wink to Tali who chuckled and nodded. Quinn turned to look at the person with a smile on her red lips.

"Hey, Garrus." She almost purred. The song changed and Quinn had the urge to go out on to dance floor. "I'm going to go dance." Quinn exclaimed as she strolled over to dance floor alone. By this time she was the only one from the Normandy crew on there, Miranda and Kelly had taken a break and had gone over to the bar.

"So you finally did it." Tali said to Garrus as he took a set.

"Did what?" He asked looking over at Quinn and how she moved, it was rather sexy.

"Shepard." Tali teased. Garrus laughed and smiled the best a Turian could, his mandibles fluttering lightly.

"I sure did." He said confidently, not even trying to hide it.

"Took you long enough." She chuckled. Shepard danced by herself out on the dance floor until something came up behind her drawing her attention and making the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

"Mmm. Nice." Spoke a deep voice, Shepard turned to look and it was one of the young Turians that was giving her looks from the table cross. "Wanna dance?" He asked, Shepard shook her head and turned to speak to him.

"Sorry I'm taken." She said simply.

"I can smell him on you; if you really were he'd be here right now with you." The young Turian said reaching down and touching Quinn's ass with his glove, clawed hand.

"Don't fucking touch me." She snarled, moving back slightly and out of his reach.

"Oh, Keelah." Tali said as Garrus stood up from the table so quickly that he almost knocked it over. Everyone from the crew saw the event unfold on the dance floor.

"Hey asshole, get your talons off of her." Shepard heard Garrus growl as she grabbed and snatched the other Turian back. It was then when Shepard truly noticed how tall and large Garrus really was compared to other Turians.

"You scared that someone else can please your little soft pussy better then you can?" The young one said, hoping to intimidate Garrus into backing down. Fights at Afterlife were a normal thing; the security was only there for the strippers and waitresses. They pretty much had the disclaimer, you start shit you get hit and that was what was about to happen. Garrus balled up his talons into a fist and landed a punch right to the jaw of the other Turian. He grabbed his face and held on to it, a painful expression showing his discomfort. Shepard saw his other two friends start to get up from the table as well but they stopped when their friend staggered to his feet and ran out of the club. Garrus looked over to them and silently challenged them as well; they did not want to engage in a fight with someone clearly skilled and left after their injured friend.

Shepard looked at Garrus who was still clearly angered; she stroked his shoulder and smiled at him. "I'll dance with you now." Garrus said. Shepard nodded with a smirk. It was more like she was dancing _on_ him rather than with him. Grinding herself on him as he swayed side to side with the beat of the song. Eventually everyone from the Normandy crew had been on the dance floor at one point or another, minus Grunt. And everyone was getting or was drunk, including Grunt. The night was going fantastic, laughing and talking forgetting their troubles.

Shepard had left the dance floor heading over to the bar to get her and Garrus a few more drinks. Her face warm with heat and her head slightly buzzing with alcohol.

"Can I get another rum and coke and a two Dextro-shooter's too." She said to the bartender. Right when everyone was having fun someone had to ruin it. Of course.

"Commander Shepard, Aria T'Loak would like a word with you." A Turian said from behind her. Shepard let out a disapproving grunt and rolled her eyes. Quinn held her drinks in hand and looked at him; she noticed that he gave her a strange expression. Shepard knew it was because of how she smelled to his species.

"Shit." Quinn cussed as she brought the drinks back over to her, Garrus's and Tali's table in the shadows. He sat there leaning back in on the leather couch knocking back the last sips of his previous drink.

"Here. I gotta go talk to Aria." Shepard said as she handed him Tali and his. "I'll be right back."

"You want me to come with you?" He asked leaning closer to the table, ready to get up and follow her if necessary.

"No. I'll be right back." Shepard said taking her drink with her. Garrus watched her sway away, as soon as she was out of earshot Tali spoke.

"So you going to give me all the details or what?" She asked expectantly.

"Shepard, my, my, look at you." Aria said when she saw Shepard come in to view. "Mmm, a lot better without all of that bulky armor. Please have a set." Shepard strode over next to Aria wondering what she wanted with her and she sat down warily.

"So you and your team are on shore leave it seems. Are the drinks to your liking?" Aria asked with a smug smile.

"Yes, everything is good." Shepard said taking a sip of her rum and Coke.

"Mmmm. There are a lot of rumors going around about you and your little crew." Aria spoke, leaning in closer to Quinn. Shepard raised a slender eyebrow at the Asari's words. "We all want to know, who is that Turian you are all over?" Quinn only looked at her, a deadpanned expression clearly saying 'I don't know what you're taking about.' "Oh don't act coy, Shepard. Turian and human couples are rare." Shepard shifted in her seat and slightly rolled her eyes refusing to comment. "You know, he looks surprisingly like Archangel." Aria said, noticing Shepard's facial expressions. Quinn narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Don't worry Shepard I never wanted him dead. Just a word of advice, there are those that would kill your whole team just to have a chance to snap his neck." Aria exclaimed like it was nothing as she snapped her fingers and ordered a drink.

"And who might those people be?" Quinn asked, her curiosity peaked. She needed to know who she needed to protect him against.

"Mmm. Let me just say that the majority of the mercs might think he is dead but there are a few that think he escaped. You watch yourself here on Omega. Also I got word that there is an Alliance vessel docked here, would you know anything about that?" Aria said taking a sip of her drink, shifting her eyes to look at Quinn's reaction.

"What? Alliance? I have no clue of what you are talking about." Quinn answered confused. Why would she know anything about that?

"Hmm." Aria said as she pulled out her data pad and looked at it. "Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko is docked here at Omega. Interesting, it seems that your ex might be tracking you."

"What?" Quinn uttered in disbelief. _Shit…._


	14. Electroshock

**Electroshock.**

_A/N: Sorry this took so long, writers block is a cruel bitch. Anyway here you go I hope you enjoy this wild crazy chapter. Note, I really did not know what to call this one so I called it 'Electroshock' after the 3Oh3 song that was listening while I wrote this craziness. Lol. Thank you to my awesome beta._

Shepard blinked at what the Asari just said to her. Aria watched the agitation creep across Quinn's face; a small smirk coming to her blue lips.

"Ah I see there is some bad blood between ex-lovers." T'Loak laughed. She was just enjoying this bit of news.

"Ha! Ex-lover, I would not even call him that." Shepard snorted and shook her head and put her hand up slightly to wave away the thought.

"Mmm. I see, well at any case I should have you know that Alliance ships are not really welcomed in the Terminus Systems. I just wanted to make sure that you had nothing to do with it." Aria stressed, lifting a slender brow. She had to make sure to cover her ass in some things if that was the case. Even though Omega was not under Alliance rule, and she was the Queen, she did not want all-out war with them. It was bad for business. Shepard narrowed her eyes and stood, she slightly swayed from her rum and Coke buzz but it was starting to fade. Damn him, he was killing her good shore leave!

"Ha! Why would I have anything to do with the Alliance?" Shepard asked pointing at herself indignantly. "Fuck the Alliance. Now if you will excuse me, T'Loak, my shore leave is not over and I still have a lot of drink to do." She said walking down the stairs and back to her table.

Who did he think he was, following her like that? Omega was a huge rock, maybe he was there for his own business, Shepard hoped silently as she finished her drink, slamming it back onto the table in agitation. She stood and walked back to the bar to get another leaning on the bar and tapping her hand on the counter to the beat of the music.

"Shepard…" She heard from beside her and stiffened. _Fuck_. Quinn let out a low snarl at the voice that had called out to her. She slowly turned around to find brown, chocolate eyes staring back, seeming to look straight through her. She just stood there and raised a brow at him, waiting, curse her bad luck.

Kaidan stood there, his eyes taking every inch of her he could. From her black stiletto heels, black tight fitting dress, exposed thick thighs, the curve of her hips and supple cleavage. She looked amazing…His mouth opened but nothing came out, he just stared at her. Across the bar, Jack sat knocking back a shot of whiskey. She glanced up and saw Kaidan standing next to Quinn. A smirk came to Jack's full lips as she hopped off of her bar stool and made her way to the back of the club where Garrus and Tali were. She was going to show that fucker not to mess with her Commander and maybe, just maybe if things played out right she would get one hell of a fucking show.

"Hey Garrus! Guess who came to crash our party!" Jack screamed over the loud music, pointing over to the bar and through the sea of people. Garrus intrigued, looked over to the direction she was pointing to and made out the sight of Kaidan talking to his Shepard, his mate and _his_ ex. The low rumble that rattled through his chest was heard by both Tali and Jack. Tali turned around and then shook her head putting her three fingered hand on her mask.

"Ohh, Keelah." She sighed. This was not going to end well. Garrus staggered to his feet and made his way towards them. A drunken Turian was never a good thing. Especially a pissed off drunken Turian.

"Why did you do that?" Tali shook her head at Jack who had a huge smirk on her face.

"This is gonna be some good shit." Jack laughed as her and Tali walked closer for a better look at the train wreck that was about to unfold in the club.

"What do you want?" Shepard asked, finally getting her drink and taking a long sip. She was going to need more on top of more shots if she even wanted a chance to deal with him.

"This is your mission to save man kind?" He grunted in disgust, looking at the crew laughing, dancing and drinking to their hearts content.

"Excuse me? Who are you to pass judgment on me and my crew?" Shepard could feel the alcohol swimming in her head and it was not going to be a good thing if her anger got the best of her. Kaidan stood there with nothing to say for a moment. _Shit_. He did not want to antagonize her, but seeing her dressed like that, on parade for every male to see just boiled his blood. "And you come to Omega following me, in the damn Terminus Systems. You know how they feel about the Alliance; I'm surprised they did not take you and whoever else is on your ship and interrogate them, or even just straight up killed you. Are you nuts, what the hell are you thinking?" Shepard spat but a three taloned hand grabbed her ass surprising her and affectively shutting up anything else she was going to say. Garrus gripped her from behind and let out a dangerous low growl, nuzzling his face in the curve of her neck, softly nipping at her. Quinn unconsciously let out a breathy moan at his actions and leaned into him. Garrus looked at Kaidan, his blue eyes taunting.

"Oh, Alenko, I did not see you there." Garrus said, lifting his head from Quinn's neck. His sharp blue eyes playfully aware of how jealous the other would get.

"You...and Quinn are..." Kaidan started to say until Garrus pushed Quinn behind him and stuck his chest out. Turians where territorial to what was theirs. And he would make sure that Alenko never got the chance to reclaim what he so carelessly threw away. Stupid human.

"You got something to say, Alenko?" Garrus threatened, his alcohol intake having a lot to do with the extra overly masculine attitude. Everything that happened the day of Shepard's funeral was running over and over in his mind. It happened two long years ago and some months ago but he was still seething mad about it, it had felt like it just happened yesterday and his drunken state was bring all of those thoughts to the surface. It was beginning to overflow.

"So you're in to aliens now?" Kaidan spat, pointing at her accusingly and trying to see her from behind the huge over protective male in front of him.

"Excuse me!" Quinn yelled, trying to step towards Kaidan and not kill him from the comment but Garrus blocked her and held her securely behind once more. Everyone on the crew was watching the drama unfolding with their Commander, her turian lover and her scorned ex. Garrus let out a low chuckle and stepped towards Kadian, both of them less than a few inches apart now.

"I fuck her better then you ever could." Garrus quipped, trying to get a rise from the other knowing it would make him jealous and although it would embarrass her a bit, he could not help what he said in his drunken stupor. Shepard's mouth dropped at what he had just said. She knew he would not say that if he was not under the influence of the many drinks he had put down that night, but a drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts. The jealousy and bad blood between the two men that had built from the time they were on the first Normandy up until now was about to spill open. Kaidan's blue biotics crept through his fist as he pulled back to land a punch on Garrus, knowing that if he did not use his biotics it would not faze him as much as if he did. He missed only by a hair but that was enough to entice the other to reciprocate. A lot of people where staring at them now, some in fright while others made bets and stood close for entertainment purposes. _Fantastic_...

Quinn could not believe what was happening. These two military trained men were about to make fools out of themselves right in front of her, lowering themselves to a bar fight in quite possibly the seediest place in the Galaxy. She would be fibbing if she said it did not turn her on to see Garrus drunk and ready to fight for his territory, that primal growl that left his throat made her soaking wet.

"I should have straightened you out at her funeral when I had the chance." Garrus hissed, Quinn shook her head and stepped between them but as soon as she did Garrus knocked her forcefully out of the way as he reached and grabbed Kaidan. Shepard staggered and twisted her ankle because of her heels, and by the time she turned around a fist fight had broken out between the two men. People around were yelling and howling and security did nothing. They just watched, amused. Perhaps due to Aria's insistence and her craving for violence and entertainment. Quinn felt anger course through her blood, no one pushed her. Not even Garrus. She was his Commander first and foremost and lover second and she would not have this behavior.

"Gunnery Chief, Garrus fucking Vakarian! I order you to fall in line or you will have to deal with me!" She yelled sliding between the two men and facing him. Kaidan rubbed his sore jaw behind them. Garrus seemed to have gotten a good shot judging by the pain. It was probably broken if not cracked. Garrus paused for a moment and then went to step around her and go for Kaidan again but Shepard put her hands on his chest. In his clouded state Garrus let out a snarl at her. Quinn looked at him like he was out of him mind; she gritted her teeth and slapped him across his face. Garrus blinked out of shock.

"Get your shit together. Who do you think you are growling at?" She hissed at him. Garrus lowered his head out of shame.

"Hey, that looks like Archangel." They heard someone from the crowd of spectators say. _Shit._

"It is him!" Someone else yelled, Quinn looked to her right and it was a group of Blue Suns, armed to the teeth. _Shit. Shit. Shit_. In that moment her buzz was gone and it was time for an all-out fire fight in Afterlife. Innocent patrons seemed to know what was about to unfold as they all ran out of the many exits from the club, pushing and rushing before the bullets started to fly as Shepard began turning tables for cover. The bartender ducked and hid under the bar. Kelly ran towards Joker and grabbed him by his arm.

"Ow! Watch it!" He screamed in pain, his fragile bones threatening to break as Kelly tugged on him.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" She ordered quickly helping him out of the club. The blue suns made the first move firing off shots towards Garrus. Kaidan pulled out his weapon and shot back, confused at what was happening around him. Quinn pulled out her concealed weapon from her holder hidden at the very top of her thigh. Miranda, Jacob and Jack blasted off some with their biotics. Tali pulled out her shotgun and hid behind an over turned table, Grunt charged and Quinn heard Garrus yell "Scoped and dropped" every time he took one of them out. Even when they were all wasted they were still an unstoppable team and that thought made Shepard feel oddly proud.

"What the hell is even going on here!" Kaidan yelled as he and Quinn ducked for cover after another round of shots delivered to the Blue Suns.

"Long story! I'll have to tell you later!" Shepard said, shooting a merc in the chest. Garrus dropped back to cover alongside of Kaidan. Not his ideal place at the moment but cover was cover.

"Like old times, huh?" Kaidan mumbled slightly only for Garrus to hear. Garrus mandibles fluttered slightly at his words.

"Yeah…" He answered after a seconds delay, then cleared his throat to continue.

"Look, I'm sorry about that fight I was….still am really drunk." Garrus apologized in between reloading and taking out mercs.

"Look! I'm really happy you two are kissing and making up but we really need to get out of here, they will have reinforcements coming soon." Quinn said running towards the door, Kaidan and Garrus looked at each other and followed as well as the rest of the crew. Quinn felt herself stagger because of her heels and her slightly twisted ankle.

"Fuck these shoes." She cursed kicking them off, grabbing them and running bare foot out of Afterlife. Garrus and Kaidan right beside her. They pushed past people on the streets of Omega on the way to the docking bay. They made it to the bay, the rest of the crew made their way to the Normandy but Shepard and Garrus paused and looked at Kaidan.

"Garrus, I'm sorry about what I said before." Kaidan said to the dizzy Turian. Fighting, shooting, and dodging bullets while drunk **was** not an easy feat.

"I'm sorry for punching you in the face." Garrus laughed putting his taloned hand on Kaidan's shoulder.

"You're a lucky man to have her." Kaidan mumbled dejectedly and glanced over to Shepard. "You two be safe."

"You too." Garrus and Shepard said to him as they parted ways. They both boarded the Normandy and she ran to the bridge.

"Joker you sober enough to drive her?" She asked, grabbing the back of his chair and leaning on it heavily. Fuck, she was tired.

"I got it, Commander." He said as the drive core switched on and the thrusters hummed to life and began to pull them the hell out of Omega. Not the shore leave that she was planning on having but in one crazy night, Garrus had gotten into two fights, she had sort of cleared the air with Kaidan, and they had a fire fight while everyone was drunk. Awesome. The only thing that was not awesome was the fact that she felt that she needed a few immunity boosters after running through the streets of Omega with no shoes on.


	15. The Derelict

_**The Derelict**_

_"__A firefight in Afterlife." The Illusive Man stressed again, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Quinn shifted from one foot to the other, just like she did when she was a little girl in trouble for causing mischief and being scolded by her tough as nails grandmother. "Are you trying to be reckless?" He asked incredulously. Quinn blinked twice and felt a migraine set in. Hello, Hangover._

_"__No. It was just a bit of fun for my crew. We have been busting our asses and they needed some shore leave. Things got a little hairy when some mercs noticed that Garrus was Archangel and they attacked us." She started to explain even though she did not owe him any explanation. But he was the boss after all. Plus he probably would not stop bitching until she explained._

_"__My intel says that the merc issue happened only after Garrus and Staff Commander Kadian Alenko got in to a fist fight. And why did that altercation happen in the first place?" He asked, putting out is cigarette and crossing his legs. Quinn was silent; Cerberus was not really a group jumping for joy when it came to interspecies relationships. "Would that be because you are currently involved with your Turian Gunnery Chief Officer?" Quinn gritted her teeth and glared at him. Who was he to make her feel dirty about what she and Garrus did on their own time? She was an adult. She was not ashamed of how she felt when he grabbed her with his talons and nipped her neck with his sharp teeth. Holy lord, the thought would never get old._

_"__Listen, it is none of your business who I'm involved with." She hissed pointing at him._

_"__Shepard, this may affect the mission." TIM scolded._

_"__You know what's dangerous to the mission? Not being able to release stress. So stop worrying about me. Now if you'll excuse me I have things to take care of." Quinn exclaimed as she forced the connection to drop. Quinn made her way from the debriefing room and rubbed at her temples. Why did everyone think they had a say so in what or whom went in between her legs? It was no one's business on who she was bedding and what they did. She just wished everyone would shut the fuck up. Quinn made her way to the Galaxy Map and looked over her omni-tool. Back to work, for there was no rest for the wicked._

_In the past few days Shepard had been cluster hopping taking care of the dirty laundry everyone decided to dry out in the open. Sometimes she felt like more of a guidance counselor then she did the Commander of an advanced war ship. They had dealt with Samara's daughter, the Ardat-Yakshi. They had went to Tuchanka to take care of Grunt's and Mordin's problems and then to the citadel to find Thane's son. Quinn rubbed her temples, rubbed the back of her neck and stretching her arm, catching the elevator to the first deck with a tired sigh. She felt like she had gotten no rest at all. She and Garrus had just gotten back that day from taking care of Jack's issue. Shepard could not believe what Cerberus had done to those children and Jack, especially. The look on her face when they were about to land was something Shepard never thought she would see coming from the hot headed biotic. Jack wanted to go there and erase all of it, wipe it all way and that meant killing the only other person who survived in that nightmare of a place._

_Shit she was fucking exhausted and all she wanted to do was take a nap but as soon as the elevator doors slid open she heard Joker's voice come over the intercom._

_"__Uh, Commander. Miranda and Jack are fighting in the debriefing room." He hurriedly explained so that she would deal with the issue before one of them blew a hole on the side of the ship._

_"__AH FUCK!" She cursed turning back around and getting in to the elevator once again._

_The elevator dinged open again, and Garrus' eyes met her's. Garrus could tell by the look on her face she was fucking pissed and tired, never a good combination. Her blunt square teeth gritted and fist clenched as she said nothing, storming right past him and towards the Debriefing Room._

_"__Shepard?" He asked following her down the hall but received no answer. Before they reached the door they could hear Jack and Miranda yelling at each other, curses and even things being thrown across the room._

_"__I'll fucking kill you bitch!" Garrus heard Jack swear right before the door hissed open to reveal the two bickering women._

_"__What the fuck is going on in here!" Quinn yelled, the vein in her neck stressing and growing more noticeable under her skin. "Both of you stop this high school bull shit right now, or I'll make both of you fucking regret it!" Her biotics flaring up in both fists and her whole body glowed blue soon afterward ready to make do on her promise. Both of the women stopped and looked at her almost in shock at her sudden hot anger. Jack put her clenched first down and Miranda's face turned slightly red. Garrus rested his talon on Shepard's tensed shoulder. "Both of you keep a deck apart. And If I hear about this shit again you will both have to deal with me." Quinn hissed narrowing her red cybernetic eyes and turning to leave. _

_"__Garrus do me a favor and separate these two children; I don't have the patients right now." Shepard gritted from behind her teeth as she left the room, leaving behind the haze of rage that hung heavily and suffocated the room. Garrus looked at both of them; Miranda looked down and did not make eye contact with him, possibly embarrassed that she just had her ass chewed by the Commander. Jack just scoffed and rolled her eyes as she walked past Garrus._

_"__Don't worry I think I can find my way back to engineering." She said before leaving the room, turning back to throw a nasty look back at Miranda. The door hissed closed and left only Garrus and Miranda._

_"__Don't you think Shepard has more to worry about then your cat fight at the moment?" Garrus spat to the XO. Miranda looked at him and sighed, a tiny smile coming to the corner of her lips. Garrus was confused for a moment, why was she smiling at him, it made him feel a little uncomfortable._

_"__You know Garrus, I really think you do a lot more for the Commander then she is aware of." Miranda said in an amused tone, walking towards the door. Garrus blinked and flared his mandibles in confusion._

_"__I'm sorry Ms. Lawson, I don't follow." Garrus said her, turning to face her._

_"__I have spent the last two years learning everything I could about Shepard. I studied her physiological profile extensively...but nothing could have prepared me for when I found out about your relationship with her." Miranda confessed to the turian. "Without you, I feel as though she would be at a loss, a lose canon and that would not be a good fit for the mission. And for that, I thank you." Miranda said before heading out and back to her post. Garrus stood there surprised at her words._

_"__Where did that come from?" Garrus asked quietly to himself, but before he could go himself she popped back in to clarify._

_"__I just appreciate what you are doing for her, that's all. Oh and Garrus, please try not to be so rough with her...the cost to replace most of her cybernetics is well over a hundred thousand credits." She added before leaving the debriefing room._

_"__Strange..." Garrus mumbled to himself._

_The next day, The Illusive Man had another mission for them. A Derelict Reaper, what was with T.I.M and "disabled" ships? Last time they set foot on a ship it came alive when they were on it, a fucking trap. Their goal was to acquirer a Reaper I.F.F. Just fantastic, sounded easy. Not. She was worn down, she barely got a few hours of sleep, tossing and turning the entire time. She had grown annoyed when she looked at her alarm clock and saw that it was 0300 hours in the morning, earth time and Garrus was not sleeping next to her. She had hoped that running her hand down his chest would sooth her from the Eden Prime nightmare that had woken her. Maybe he was mad at her? She thought hard to see if she had done anything wrong, just what she needed another thing to worry and stress about._

_"__Just what I fucking need!" Quinn yelled as she tried to hold the fifteen or more husks back that were charging at her, Thane and Garrus. They would not stop coming, one after the other, over and over again. Her shields went down when a Husk came running towards and managed to hit her, it hissing and swinging at her with his clawed hand. She fell backwards to the ground putting her hand up and trying to push the husk back; it was screeching and biting at her. Quinn swung her arm and tried to bash it in the face with her elbow but it sunk its teeth in between the plates of her armor. Quinn screamed from the pain. It had to get the one place where she was not protected. A well place shot splattered its head, its synthetic blood dripping into her mouth. Shepard felt her gag reflex twitch but she contained the need to vomit, focusing on the destroying the Mass Effect Core of the Derelict ship. She knew that when she took the core down that they would only have a few moments before the ship fell in to the brown dwarf it was orbiting._ _Shit. Shit. Shit!_ _Quinn's mind yelled. The core exploded in front of them but luckily no damage was done other than what they already had. With that done, the three of them now focused on the strange lone Geth that lay before them._

_"__Garrus grab the Geth!" Shepard ordered, still feeling sick and nauseous from the disgusting Husk blood in her mouth._

_"__Garrus that is an order!" Quinn yelled as the ship shook under them. They start running as fast as they could, Shepard holding the I.F.F. under her arm, the sweat from her forehead dripping in to her eyes and impairing her vision, and the salty sweat on her form irritating the wounds throughout her body. She had a gash on her hip, the bite wound on her forearm, and cuts and bruises all over her. Damn this mission._

_"__Quinn we need to go now!" Joker yelled in her ear piece. Joker never called her by her first name; the urgency in his voice worried the hell out of her._ _Fuck!_ _Quinn tripped on a husk corps, almost throwing the I.F.F. from her arms. Thane turned around and literally snatched her from the floor by the back of her armor._

_"__Commander!" Joker yelled again, his voice cracking from worry. Finally they saw the Normandy and after throwing the Geth in first, Garrus jumped reaching the ships doors. The wound on her arm was screaming in pain, her lungs hurt like hell. Thane made the jump and landed shakily next to Garrus. Both then turned to her, wide eyed watching her as she stepped back some and ran as hard as her human and cybernetic legs would take her. As soon as she jumped the Reaper slowly pulled away, beginning to fall into the small sun like star._

_I'm not going to make it._ _She thought, over whelmed with wanting to give up and accept her fate. She just wanted a little bit of peace, without responsibility. She wanted to sleep. She felt so weak. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, Quinn's left hand stretching out to the ship as far as it could._

_I should throw the I.F.F., so if I die they can have a chance._ _Her mind thought. Right as she was prepared to do so, Garrus leaned out of the ship, Thane steadying the Turian by gripping him by the pants of his armor. She felt his talons grip her by her wrist and yank her towards him, like it was nothing. She stumbled on to him as the exterior door slammed shut and equalized the pressure and allowed them to breathe. The Normandy pulled away from the brown star in time and Joker set a new course to get them as far away from the system as possible. Quinn shivers in his arms; she dry sobbed and then felt her gut churn. She pulled off her helmet as fast as she could unable to help the inevitable._

_"__Shepard..." Garrus spoke softly to her but she pushed him away and vomited on the ship's floor. How embarrassing, she just had puke right in front of two aliens. Their Commanding Officer, who was supposed to be a strong woman and never let anything get to her._

_"__Shepard, are you alright?" Thane asked covering his nostrils from the smell and looking away from her, trying to school his face so she would not see his disgusted in her emptying her stomach. Quinn nodded slowly before talking. "Thank god for Garrus 'reach'." She laughed to herself to their private joke. What a day._


	16. Talks

**Talks**

"Deep bite, very deep, will need medi-gel and stitches. Also immunobusters to fight off infection. Who knows what type of bacteria Husk could carry in their mouths. Will take samples for study." Mordin diagnosed, looking over Quinn's arm, scanning her and then looking down at his omni tool every so often to check his findings. "Already running fever. You say she vomited?" Mordin questioned, looking over to Garrus who was standing right at her side since she arrived in the med bay.

"No. I puked because I got Husk puss in my mouth. Fucking gross." Quinn said in disgust, just thinking about it made her even sicker. Mordin shook his head and then went to work on her arm.

"Are you sure you are okay, Shepard?" Garrus asked her, putting his talon on her knee and rubbing in small comforting circles everytime she would flinch from the stitching. Quinn nodded but she couldn't believe how close they were to losing everything. She could not tell him that though, as his Commander she had to be strong when it came to the mission. Though Garrus, her ever observant Turian, could tell the by the look on her face. Her tensed and slightly trembling bottom lip, her furrowed brow, how she kept her eyes locked on the floor in front of her. There was a tense silence for a few moments and then Mordin spoke startling them both from their thoughts.

"Okay, Shepard, all done." He said looking up at her with a wrinkled mouth smile. He looked pointedly at Garrus and then back to Shepard. "And I assume everything is going well with the both of you? No adverse or allergic reaction, chaffing...Nothing?"

Quinn smiled and got up off of the cot, not in the least put out by the question, Garrus mandibles, on the other hand, flared from embarrassment.

"We are going fantastic, Doc. And thank you." Shepard said making her way out of the med-bay with Garrus at her six following her out as quickly as he possibly could.

"I gotta go find out what's going on with this Geth I have on board." Quinn sighed tiredly as she stretched out her arm until the bone in her shoulder popped.

"I think you should have left it, Tali's going to freak when she finds out there is a Geth on board. Shep-" Garrus began, paused but then fixed what he was going to say quickly. "Quinn I'm not trying to undermine your judgment or orders but having a Geth here is dangerous." Garrus spoke softly and affectionately, stepping in front of her to make her listen to him. He was worried about her, every mission she seemed to lose a bit of herself, fighting in a blind rage fueled by hate on the battle field. Her dreams were getting worse too. In the last week he had seen her sweat, cry and scream in her sleep, her body shuttering and twitching before he was forced to wake her or he was awaken by her.

"Fuck, I'm going to go take a nap." Quinn sighed heavily, rubbing her arm tiredly from stress. "EDI is putting in that IFF and it's got to be scanned before we take the ship anywhere. So we'll take the shuttle to the Citadel. But until then I'm going to go to sleep." She exclaimed, pushing past him and making her way down the hall to the elevator. Garrus sighed as he watched her walk away from him; he wanted her to be able to talk to him if something was wrong. He wanted her to confide in him but her pride and harsh personality did not allow it. She kept secrets and kept most people at arm's length. But who was he to judge? He had dark secrets too, ones that he would never tell her either. Garrus found himself wandering towards the bridge, finding Joker in his pilot seat watching the Reaper IFF progress on his idle ship. There was something else open on the counsel in front of him, that he quickly closed when Garrus rounded the corner. "Hey, Garrus. What's up?" Joker asked lifting the bill of his hat to scratch the shaggy brown hair on his head.

"Nothing. Just looking for a little company." Garrus said sitting in one of the empty co-pilot seats next to the pilot. Jeff raised his eyebrow suspiciously at the Turian. There was silence for a few moments between them and the atmosphere was beginning growing awkward.

"So you gonna tell me what's really up, or what?" Joker questioned, glancing at Garrus.

"It's Quinn….I'm worry about her." Garrus confessed. Joker let out a scoff at the vigilante. He was not the only one, or the last for a matter of fact.

"You are not the only one; we're all worry about her." There was a heavy pause and Joker continued. "You know, I'm not excusing what Kaidan said to you at her funeral but you weren't the only one that lost her. I had to live with the fact that she died because of me, because I was too crippled and too proud, thinking I could save everyone to get off the ship and she had to come back for me." Joker let out a sour chuckle. "She picked me up like a child and refused to let me die. I blamed myself. _" I still do._ Joker thought, pulling off his hat and leaned his head back looking at the ceiling of the ship. "I remember when Cerberus called me and told me about the Lazarus project. I told The Illusive Man I would not believe it until they would let me see her. Miranda refused but The Illusive Man decided to let me see her only from the lab window. And through bullet proof glass she laid on a lab table. It was haunting. Needless to say I was tearing up a little." Joker put his hat back on and rubbed his forehead. "Fuck, I never really talked to anyone about that, sorry." A heavy and defeated sigh left his lips and his body sagged in his comfortable chair, the weight of his guilt never fully leaving him no matter what his Commander said. He would always feel responsible.

"No need to apologize." Garrus noted shaking his head trying to ease his pilot friend.

"You know, you came here asking for chick advice and I'm not the best person to ask for that. I don't really get laid that much." Joker joked, a harsh chuckle leaving him from the sad realization.

"Hell you are the only other male I can really talk to that understands human females. I mean there's Jacob but he's a little too nice and professional to have a talk like this with." Garrus said honestly, relaxing a bit.

"Well thanks Garrus." Joker said sarcastically."So what's the problem?"

"I think I'm just being paranoid but do you really believe our relationship is more than friends having sex? I believe your human term is 'friends with benefits', or something but I mean we haven't been very romantic since we started this." Garrus finally admitted, that question was bothering him since they started this fling. Joker laughed and rolled his eyes at the oblivious man.

"Yes, having lots of hard pounding sex in the cargo bay must be really hard on you Garrus."

"Fuck you, Joker."

"Come on man, she has had a high school crush on you since you first joined us on the SR1." Jeff admitted, scoffing at how dense the Turian really was at not being able to see something practically waving in front of his face. Garrus' mandibles flared at his words. Joker turned and looked at him, hoping that he got the point and finally saw the light. Garrus had no idea it was obvious to everyone else. Shit, he was embarrassed as all hell to know she had cared for him even back then and he was too thick to notice.

"I had no idea; she was interested in me then." He said wishing he would have made a move sooner. Perhaps all that drama with Kaidan could have been avoided and she wouldn't have had to deal with him in the first place and they could have been happier.

"What are you blind? She had been dropping hints to you all the damn time. Kaidan was just an afterthought when she figured in the end that you were not interested."

"And you never thought to tell me?" Garrus questioned harshly, feeling cheated out of an earlier chance at her.

"Yeah, what do I look like, your secretary? Walking all the way down to the Mako just to say 'Hey, Garrus what's up? . Oh by the way, the Commander would like to fuck the living shit out of you, you know.' Yeah I should have said that." Jeff sarcastically exclaimed, looking back down at the readings on counsel in front of him.

"Well this was illuminating conversa- wait you saw us in the Cargo bay?" Garrus the dropped the statement, realizing something suddenly came out in the open and asked. Joker let out a nervous laugh and tried to think of something to say to justify his actions and invasion of privacy.

"Yeah well...as soon as I saw it I turned the video feed off." Joker said looking away from Garrus.

"That is not really accurate, Jeff actually watched 1 minutes and 12 seconds of the video footage that came from the Cargo Bay of you and Shepard. Until I cut the feed, obviously." EDI chimed in a sassy and motherly tone but he ignored it. Perhaps he imagined that tone and let the thought drop. Garrus then looked at Joker and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh come on! What was I going to do, turn it off! That's Fornax worthy!" Joker admitted throwing his arms up in exasperation. Garrus let out a low laugh at the whole conversation. "Thank god, I thought you were going to beat me to death." Joker sighed in relief. He did not want to die, beaten by the stick he knew Garrus still had stuck up his narrow ass. Not that he would admit he was the one that thought that of him, anyways. He knew most of the ship had heard him say that, he just hoped Garrus didn't know its origin.

"Oh you though I was going to pull the pole from my ass and bash you with it? No, I'll save that one for the Collectors." He said, and once again Joker's face turned from a smile to a look of shock. _Shit…Guess he knew that was me after all._ He thought then lowered his body a bit into the safety of his warm leather seat.

The whole team arrived on the Citadel and Shepard made her way to have a talk with Anderson. Garrus asked if he could join her, she refused telling him to go and enjoy himself some. Typical Quinn, taking everything business related to herself so her crew did not suffer with her. He really wanted to go with her but she insisted saying "Come on, it's just going to be boring political shit. I think the council is going to get on my ass again for some of the mission specs I sent them. I'll just catch up with you later." He eventually agreed and decided to get a few weapon upgrades on the Zakera Ward. He let out a grunt as he slipped though the small crowd and to the kiosk at Rodam Expeditions.

"Garrus? Garrus Vakarian?" He heard a female Turian voice say from behind him, a small pleasurable rumble in her tone. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her. His mandibles flared when he recognized who she was.

Velia Ta'len, he had slept with her a few times in the past when he was in C-SEC. She was an attractive thing, with a tiny waist, yellow eyes and white markings on her face. For a moment he stared at her trying to remember why he stopped seeing her. Oh yeah, that's right, he ran off go join a crazy human and her crew of misfits to save the Galaxy. Garrus flicked his mandibles as he tried to think of what to say, he was truly at a loss for words.

"Velia, long time no see," He exclaimed nervously. He felt her eyes on his scars. Turian facial expressions where a hard thing to pick up on unless, of course, you were a Turian and Garrus could tell that Velia was studying him with the same sexual intend that she did when he met her at Flux years ago. Shit. He had never been nervous around his own species of female before, but now it was different. What would happen if Shepard turned that corner right now and saw them, or rather her all chummy with him?

"Garrus, I can't believe it's you." She spoke taking a step towards him. Yep, she was interested. She was being pretty daring stepping into his personal space like that. "When I heard that you left C-sec I was really shocked. And then when I heard that you stopped Saren I was amazed. " She spoke in awe with a laugh, putting her talons on her hips, drawing attention to her waist. Fantastic.

"Well, Saren was nothing; it was his Geth that caused the majority of the problem." Garrus joked, trying to look back over at the kiosk and seem nonchalant.

"I'm sure." She said with a purr, taking another step towards him. He knew that she was making advances because she had no idea that he was taken. Just like males, Turian females left pheromones on their mates so every other female knew that he was taken. But humans did no such thing, and their scents were weak at best so even Garrus was skeptical and unsure of other species picking it up. "So, do you want to go get something to eat? Or maybe go somewhere to…catch up?" She asked reaching out to touch his waist. No. She was being extremely direct with him. He almost forgot that Turian woman went about sex way different than humans. He moved back from her advances and shook his head effectively telling her that he was in no way interested.

"I don't think that is such a good idea. I'm with someone." As soon as he said that he saw Shepard come around the corner. Her white tank top exposing the definition of her abs under it, her tight black pants and her heavy boots made sure everyone knew she was there and not to be messed with or they would get stomped underneath them. She had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth; damn the meeting with the council must had been pretty bad. She looked up and saw him, but her eyes darted right towards the Turian woman who was standing in front of him. Quinn narrowed her eyes and removed her cigarette from her lips, keeping it between her index and middle finger. She felt the tension rise quickly and her fingers twitch to put the cigarette out right in someone's eye.

"Garrus." She said ignoring the other Turian. "You hungry? Let's go get something to eat or drink. Or both." Quinn said taking another drag of her cigarette before flicking it in to the nearest bin. Velia had a look of pure shock on her face, her mandibles fluttering in surprise. She could smell Garrus all over Shepard.

"Really? Garrus, you are with this human." Velia scoffed. Quinn gave the woman a sharp look and gritted her blunt teeth. She didn't want to beat this woman into dust but she was pushing it and she was tempted to oblige.

"And you are?" Quinn snapped stepping toward Velia, knowing Turians were territorial of their mates and knowing if it came down to it she would have to step up and defend what was her's. Garrus reached out to pull Shepard back; human women were no match for Turians when it came to hand to hand combat but he knew she would try and have a good possibility of succeeding. He just did not want her hurt, or in a C-SEC jail. Quinn snatched her arm out of his grip and stood only a few inches form Velia. Garrus sometimes wondered if Shepard just had quads or was just down right delusional. Velia went to speak but Quinn cut her off. "Listen, I don't give a fuck who you are. I'm Commander Shepard and I would really love to hear what you have to say about me and Garrus' relationship." Quinn hissed.

"You're fucking a dead human...?" Velia asked him, looking down at Shepard with a sneer.

"Well, I'm technically undead." Quinn added with a wicked smirk, playing out the usual joke about her two year absence, hoping that she would try to start a fight. She was pissed as all hell and she wanted to beat the shit out of something.

"I can't believe you, Vakarian. You are an embarrassment to your kind." Velia said with a slight growl at him. Garrus was about to say something in rebuttal but there was a blinking and chirping noise that came from Quinn's omni-tool. He saw her face change, her smirk dropping away as she read a message from most likely EDI.

_Commander,_

_The Collectors came they took everyone but Joker. Please hurry._

Their eyes met after reading the message, no words were said and only worry and rage set in their eyes. Shepard took off running through the ward, and Garrus followed, leaving his credits up on the kiosk, caring only about getting back to the Normandy.


End file.
